Solar eclipse of December 4, 2002

A total solar eclipse occurred at the Moon's descending node of orbit on Wednesday, December 4, 2002, with a magnitude of 1.0244. A solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes between Earth and the Sun, thereby totally or partly obscuring the image of the Sun for a viewer on Earth. A total solar eclipse occurs when the Moon's apparent diameter is larger than the Sun's, blocking all direct sunlight, turning day into darkness. Totality occurs in a narrow path across Earth's surface, with the partial solar eclipse visible over a surrounding region thousands of kilometres wide. Occurring about 1.9 days after perigee (on December 2, 2002, at 8:50 UTC), the Moon's apparent diameter was larger.

The eclipse was visible from a narrow corridor in parts of Angola, Botswana, Zimbabwe, South Africa, Mozambique, the Indian Ocean and South Australia. A partial eclipse was seen from the much broader path of the Moon's penumbra, including most of Africa and Australia in addition to parts of Indonesia and Antarctica. During the sunset after the eclipse many observers in Australia saw numerous and unusual forms of a green flash.

In some parts of Angola, it was the second total eclipse of the Sun within 18 months, following the solar eclipse of June 21, 2001.

Observations

The Chinese Academy of Sciences sent a team to Australia, to study the gravity anomalies first recorded by Indian scientists during the total solar eclipse of October 24, 1995. The Chinese Academy of Sciences also studied it during previous total solar eclipses of March 9, 1997 in Mohe County and June 21, 2001 in Zambia. With continuous observation for more than 10 years after that, China obtained the first observational evidence that the gravity field propagates at the speed of light.

Eclipse timing

Places experiencing total eclipse

Places experiencing partial eclipse

Gallery

• Via eclipse glasses in Ceduna, South Australia

Eclipse details

Shown below are two tables displaying details about this particular solar eclipse. The first table outlines times at which the Moon's penumbra or umbra attains the specific parameter, and the second table describes various other parameters pertaining to this eclipse.

Eclipse season

This eclipse is part of an eclipse season, a period, roughly every six months, when eclipses occur. Only two (or occasionally three) eclipse seasons occur each year, and each season lasts about 35 days and repeats just short of six months (173 days) later; thus two full eclipse seasons always occur each year. Either two or three eclipses happen each eclipse season. In the sequence below, each eclipse is separated by a fortnight.

Related eclipses

Eclipses in 2002

• A penumbral lunar eclipse on May 26.
• An annular solar eclipse on June 10.
• A penumbral lunar eclipse on June 24.
• A penumbral lunar eclipse on November 20.
• A total solar eclipse on December 4.

Metonic

• Preceded by: Solar eclipse of February 16, 1999
• Followed by: Solar eclipse of September 22, 2006

Tzolkinex

• Preceded by: Solar eclipse of October 24, 1995
• Followed by: Solar eclipse of January 15, 2010

Half-Saros

• Preceded by: Lunar eclipse of November 29, 1993
• Followed by: Lunar eclipse of December 10, 2011

Tritos

• Preceded by: Solar eclipse of January 4, 1992
• Followed by: Solar eclipse of November 3, 2013

Solar Saros 142

• Preceded by: Solar eclipse of November 22, 1984
• Followed by: Solar eclipse of December 14, 2020

Inex

• Preceded by: Solar eclipse of December 24, 1973
• Followed by: Solar eclipse of November 14, 2031

Triad

• Preceded by: Solar eclipse of February 3, 1916
• Followed by: Solar eclipse of October 4, 2089

Solar eclipses of 2000–2003

This eclipse is a member of a semester series. An eclipse in a semester series of solar eclipses repeats approximately every 177 days and 4 hours (a semester) at alternating nodes of the Moon's orbit.

The partial solar eclipses on February 5, 2000 and July 31, 2000 occur in the previous lunar year eclipse set.

Saros 142

This eclipse is a part of Saros series 142, repeating every 18 years, 11 days, and containing 72 events. The series started with a partial solar eclipse on April 17, 1624. It contains a hybrid eclipse on July 14, 1768, and total eclipses from July 25, 1786 through October 29, 2543. There are no annular eclipses in this set. The series ends at member 72 as a partial eclipse on June 5, 2904. Its eclipses are tabulated in three columns; every third eclipse in the same column is one exeligmos apart, so they all cast shadows over approximately the same parts of the Earth.

The longest duration of totality will be produced by member 38 at 6 minutes, 34 seconds on May 28, 2291. All eclipses in this series occur at the Moon’s descending node of orbit.

Metonic series

The metonic series repeats eclipses every 19 years (6939.69 days), lasting about 5 cycles. Eclipses occur in nearly the same calendar date. In addition, the octon subseries repeats 1/5 of that or every 3.8 years (1387.94 days). All eclipses in this table occur at the Moon's descending node.

Tritos series

This eclipse is a part of a tritos cycle, repeating at alternating nodes every 135 synodic months (≈ 3986.63 days, or 11 years minus 1 month). Their appearance and longitude are irregular due to a lack of synchronization with the anomalistic month (period of perigee), but groupings of 3 tritos cycles (≈ 33 years minus 3 months) come close (≈ 434.044 anomalistic months), so eclipses are similar in these groupings.

Inex series

This eclipse is a part of the long period inex cycle, repeating at alternating nodes, every 358 synodic months (≈ 10,571.95 days, or 29 years minus 20 days). Their appearance and longitude are irregular due to a lack of synchronization with the anomalistic month (period of perigee). However, groupings of 3 inex cycles (≈ 87 years minus 2 months) comes close (≈ 1,151.02 anomalistic months), so eclipses are similar in these groupings.

Notes

• Fred Espenak and Jay Anderson. "". NASA, November 2004.
• Eclipse Predictions by Fred Espenak, NASA/GSFC

Photos:

• and
• .
• Deprecated link archived 2013-02-09 at archive.today
• 6 February 2012 at the Wayback Machine.
• , APOD 12/6/2002, Corona from Zimbabwe-South Africa border
• , APOD 12/13/2002, Corona of total eclipse from Musina, South Africa
• , APOD 1/6/2003, totality from South Australia