A total eclipse of the sun occurred just hours before the vernal equinox this year. It was a short one, seen in totality for just 2 minutes 47 seconds, and was visible best from the Faroe Islands, which lie in the far north Atlantic Ocean, in the middle of the triangle formed by Iceland, Norway, and the UK.
Times (GMT) at the point of greatest eclipse:
- Start of partial eclipse (C1): 08:43:06.4, March 20, 2015
- Start of total eclipse (C2) : 09:44:15.9
- Maximum eclipse: 09:45:39.2
- End of total eclipse (C3): 09:47:02.8
- End of partial eclipse (C4): 10:50:35.7
Subtract four hours for Eastern Daylight Time and five hours for Central Daylight Time from those reported above from NASA.
When the moon makes its way around the Earth, a total eclipse of the moon will occur on April 4. That one won’t be fully visible from the continental US, either, as the moon will be setting during the eclipse. Hawaiians will get an excellent view of it, though, when it is centered at about 5:45 AM, Central Daylight Time.
The solar eclipse Friday occurred just a few hours before spring began in the Northern Hemisphere. This is the point when an imaginary plane through the center of the Earth at the equator passes the center of the sun and the sun’s rays are hitting the equator at a perpendicular angle.
This year, that happened at 6:45 PM, Eastern Daylight Time, on March 20, a mere 13 hours after the eclipse. Spring is finally here. Now if the snow can stay away, especially in Boston and other New England locations, we’ll all be happy.
The next total solar eclipse will occur on March 9, 2016, but a total lunar eclipse will be visible, in totality, from the eastern US on Sept 28 this year.
