National Aeronautics and Administration

Annular and Total Solar Eclipses of 2003 National Aeronautics and Administration

Publisher Marketing: This work is the ninth in a series of NASA publications containing detailed predictions, maps and meteorological data for future central solar eclipses of interest. Published as part of NASA's Technical Publication (TP) series, the eclipse bulletins are prepared in cooperation with the Working Group on Eclipses of the International Astronomical Union and are provided as a public service to both the professional and lay communities, including educators and the media. In order to allow a reasonable lead time for planning purposes, eclipse bulletins are published 12 to 24 months before each event. On 2003 May 31, an annular eclipse of the Sun will be visible from a large zone covering the North Atlantic. The path of the Moon's antumbral shadow begins in northern Scotland, crosses Iceland and central Greenland, and ends at sunrise in Baffin Bay (Canada). A partial eclipse will be seen within the much broader path of the Moon's penumbral shadow, which includes most of Europe, the Middle East, central and northern Asia, and northwestern North America. Six months later on 2003 November 23, a total eclipse of the Sun will be visible from a broad corridor that traverses portions of the Southern Hemisphere. The path of the Moon's umbral shadow begins in the Indian Ocean, crosses Antarctica, and ends at sunrise near the edge of the southern continent. A partial eclipse will be seen within the much larger path of the Moon's penumbral shadow, which includes Australia, New Zealand, Antarctica and southern South America. Detailed predictions for these two events are presented and include besselian elements, geographic coordinates of the path of umbral eclipse, physical ephemeris of the umbra, topocentric limb profile corrections, local circumstances for hundreds of cities, maps of the eclipse paths, weather prospects, the lunar limb profiles and the sky during totality. Information on safe eclipse viewing and additional web resources is included.