Interesting Future Eclipses (1999-2035)

Interesting Future Eclipses (1999-2035), by Bryan Brewer

In the Foreword to the First Edition of ECLIPSE, Frank Herbert says : "Eclipses, those positive markers of our relative movement through the void, make a superb focal point for our outward vision." Whatever draws you to these "positive markers" -- a vague notion of cosmic coincidence, a desire for adventure travel, a sense of mysterious milestones that mark a lifetime, a cultural connection with the primitive past -- it helps to have a roadmap. Our Sun and Moon have planned a number of interesting opportunities for us to experience eclipses in the next four decades. Some are visible in highly populated areas. Others occur in exotic vacation spots. Still others can be seen only from remote ocean regions. At each appointed rendezvous, a celestial shadow is sure to be there. Perhaps you will be there, too.

1999 August 11 -- "THE MILLENNIUM ECLIPSE of 1999" is the final total solar eclipse of the 20th century. (Note: there is no total solar eclipse in the year 2000, sparing us from the debate over which is the true millennium eclipse.) The shadow crosses the English Channel, darkening Plymouth, England, and Cherbourg, France, but passing south of Stonehenge by some 60 miles. The list of cities in the path -- Rouen, Reims, Luxembourg, Stuttgart, Munich, Salzburg -- reads like a travelogue of Western Europe. (Paris and Vienna are each just outside the path of totality.) From there the umbra crosses Hungary and Romania (including Bucharest) and continues across Turkey and the Middle East, darkening both Karachi, Pakistan, and Ahmadabad, India, late on this Wednesday afternoon.

2000 January 21 -- A total lunar eclipse will be visible from all of North and South America and Europe, lasting for 1 hour and 18 minutes.

2000 July 16 -- Another total lunar eclipse six months later will give early risers on the west coast of North America a chance to see the eclipsed full Moon set in the west at sunrise.

2000 December 25 -- A partial solar eclipse , visible during mid-day from the entire 48 states of the U.S., graces the final Christmas Day of the Second Millennium.

2001 June 21 and 2002 December 4 -- A forty-mile stretch of the Atlantic coast of Africa, just north of Lobito, Angola, experiences totality twice in 18 months. The June 21st eclipse occurs just 4.5 hours after the solstice (winter in the Southern Hemisphere). The December 4th eclipse track passes 50 miles south of Victoria Falls in Africa, ending at sunset on the southern coast of Australia on the shoreline of the Great Australian Bight, near the Yalata Aboriginal Reserve.

2003 May 31 and 2003 November 23 -- Two opposite polar eclipses in the same year -- a double "polar solar" -- and each in the corresponding warmer half of the year. The May 31st event is an annular solar eclipse that starts at the northern tip of Scotland and actually moves westward across Iceland and southern Greenland. The November 23rd eclipse is total, lasting up to 1 minute 57 seconds as it sweeps across Antarctica near the Amery Ice Shelf. Partial phases of each eclipse are visible from the respective Poles themselves.

2005 April 8 -- The total phase of this annular-total eclipse, with a maximum duration of 42 seconds, traverses a 15-mile wide path entirely over a remote region of the southern Pacific Ocean. Quite a challenge for the dedicated eclipse chaser!

2006 March 29 -- Although this 110-mile wide path of totality crosses Africa and much of Asia, there are no major population centers in its path. However, you can try to catch a brief glimpse of totality exactly at sunrise near Natal, on the northeastern coast of Brazil.

2008 August 1 -- A "midnight Sun" total eclipse visible from the northern tip of Greenland, and parts of northern Russia. The path of totality crosses the Great Wall of China near sunset.

2009 July 22 -- The next eclipse in the July 11, 1991, saros series begins in the Arabian Sea just off the coast of India between Bombay and Ahmadabad. The path traverses central India (including Indore, Benares, and Patna) and the Himalayas through eastern Nepal and Bhutan, passing 75 miles south of Mt. Everest. The shadow engulfs the Chinese cities of Chongqing, Wuhan, and Shanghai before passing out into the East China Sea and halfway across the Pacific.

2010 July 11 -- After crossing Easter Island in the South Pacific, this total solar eclipse path barely touches land in southern Chile and Argentina at sunset.

2012 November 13 -- The path of totality begins near Darwin in north central Australia and moves across the Great Barrier Reef near Cairns.

2017 August 21 -- Finally, another total eclipse in the United States. This one sweeps a 70-mile wide path from Salem, Oregon, to Charleston, South Carolina, crossing coast-to-coast from mid-morning to early afternoon on this summer Monday. Points in the path include Mt. Jefferson in the Cascades and Grand Teton peak in the Rockies, as well as Casper, Wyoming, and Lincoln, Nebraska. In Missouri, Kansas City lies near the southern edge of the path, St. Louis near the northern edge. The eclipse reaches its maximum in western Kentucky, with the Sun at an altitude of 64 degrees and a duration of totality of 2 minutes 40 seconds. In Tennessee, Nashville is near the southern edge of the path, Knoxville near the northern edge. The shadow then passes over Greenville, Columbia, and Charleston, South Carolina, before racing out across the Atlantic.

2024 April 8 -- Another North American total eclipse only seven years later! This 120-mile wide path crosses Mazatlan, Dallas, Cleveland, Buffalo, and Montreal, with over four minutes of totality.

2026 August 12 -- An unusual eclipse track that actually moves westward near the North Pole before swinging southeast over Greenland, Iceland, and Spain. Reykjavik, Madrid, and Barcelona are near the edge of the path, and Palma de Mallorca is near the centerline just before sunset.

2027 August 2 -- The second eclipse in the same saros following July 11, 1991, passes over the Rock of Gibraltar, Thebes in Egypt (near where it reaches maximum duration of 6 minutes 22 seconds), and Mecca in Saudi Arabia.

2028 July 22 -- This, another long eclipse, passes from one end of Australia to the other (including Sydney) on this afternoon. Near sunset, the path crosses Dunedin on South Island, New Zealand.

2035 September 2 -- A grand oriental eclipse, the path crosses Beijing and just grazes Tokyo on its southern edge.

** Material adapted from ECLIPSE by Bryan Brewer ($14.95 plus S&H). ECLIPSE Book Order Form. **

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