Solar eclipse of March 20, 2015

Solar eclipse of March 20, 2015
Solar eclipse of March 20, 2015
	From Longyearbyen, Svalbard
	Map
Type of eclipse
Nature	Total
Gamma	0.9454
Magnitude	1.0445
Maximum eclipse
Duration	167 s (2 min 47 s)
Coordinates	64°24′N 6°36′W / 64.4°N 6.6°W
Max. width of band	463 km (288 mi)
Times (UTC)
Greatest eclipse	9:46:47
References
Saros	120 (61 of 71)
Catalog # (SE5000)	9541

A total solar eclipse occurred on March 20, 2015. 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 a partial solar eclipse visible over a surrounding region thousands of kilometres wide. This total solar eclipse is notable in that the path of totality passed over the North Pole. Totality was visible in the Faroe Islands and Svalbard.

It had a magnitude of 1.0445. The longest duration of totality was 2 minutes and 47 seconds off the coast of the Faroe Islands. It was the last total solar eclipse visible in Europe until the eclipse of August 12, 2026.^[1]

The track of totality passed across the North Atlantic and into the Arctic Ocean.

Event[edit]

The solar eclipse began at 08:30 GMT in northwest Europe and moved towards the northeast but still in northern Europe. It was most visible from the North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, Greenland, Iceland, Ireland, the United Kingdom, Faroe Islands, northern Norway and Murmansk Oblast. The shadow began its pass off the south coast of Greenland. It then moved to the northeast, passing between Iceland and the United Kingdom before moving over the Faroe Islands and the northernmost islands of Norway. The shadow of the eclipse was visible in varying degrees all over Europe.^[2] For example, London experienced an 86.8% partial solar eclipse while points north of the Faroe Islands in the Norwegian Sea saw a complete solar eclipse.^[3] Three chartered airliners flew above the clouds, giving passengers a slightly prolonged view.^[4]

The eclipse was observed at radio frequencies at the Metsähovi Radio Observatory, Finland, where a partial eclipse was seen.^[5] The eclipse was also observed by meteorological satellite Meteosat-10.^[6]^[7]

Impact[edit]

The European Union has a solar power output of about 90 gigawatts and production could have been temporarily decreased by up to 34 GW of that dependent on the clarity of the sky. In actuality the dip was less than expected, with a 13 GW drop in Germany happening due to overcast skies.^[8]^[9] This was the first time that an eclipse had a significant impact on the power system, and the electricity sector took measures to mitigate the impact. The power gradient (change in power) may be −400 MW/minute and +700 MW/minute. Places in Netherlands, Belgium and Denmark may be 85.2% obscured.^[10]^[11] Temperature may decrease by 3 °C (5.4 °F), and wind power may decrease as winds are reduced by 0.7 m/s (2.3 ft/s).^[12]

Coincidence of events[edit]

In addition to the eclipse, 20 March 2015 was also the day of the March equinox (also known as the spring or vernal equinox in the Northern Hemisphere). In addition, six supermoons were expected for 2015. The supermoon on 20 March 2015 was the third of the year; however, it was a new moon (near side facing away from the sun), and only its shadow was visible.^[13]

At greatest eclipse, the Sun was at its zenith less than 24 kilometres (15 mi) south of the Equator. Greatest eclipse occurred at 09:45:39 UTC of Friday, March 20, 2015 while March Equinox occurred at 22:45:09 UTC, just under 13 hours after the greatest eclipse (Greatest eclipse occurred in winter, 13 hours before spring).

Religious Significance[edit]

Proponents of the Blood Moon Prophecy, such as Bob O'Dell^[14] also pointed out that 20 March 2015 was also a significant day on the Jewish and Biblical calendar. That evening was the onset of the Hebrew month of Nisan, the first month in the Biblical calendar year. Furthermore, the path of the total eclipse over the North Pole^[15] was a highly symbolic location infusing the day with both great natural significance and profound religious meaning according to O'Dell. Due to the significance of the eclipse, a global prayer event in Jerusalem was organized that day.^[16]

Eclipse visibility[edit]

The event was visible as a partial eclipse all across Europe including: Norway, Sweden, Denmark, the United Kingdom,^[17] Ireland,^[18] Portugal, France,^[19] Germany,^[20] Poland,^[21] Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Austria, Italy, Montenegro, Finland, Western Russia, and Ukraine.

Sheffield, United Kingdom. All time local time (GMT)
Lorient, France, 10:20 local time (9:20 GMT)
Berlin, Germany, 10:29 local time (9:29 UTC) – unconfirmed source
Markt Schwaben, Germany
Dublin, Ireland, 9:30 GMT
Chester-le-Street, United Kingdom, 9:36 GMT
Tórshavn, Faroe Islands, End of totality, 9:43 local time (GMT)
Wrocław, Poland, 10:44 local time (9:44 UTC)
Hjartdal, Norway, 10:47 local time (9:47 UTC)
Prague, Czech Republic, 10:49 local time (9:49 UTC)
Kłodzko, Poland, 10:54 local time (9:54 UTC)
Warsaw, Poland, 10:56 local time (9:56 UTC)
Budapest, Hungary, 11:00 local time (10:00 UTC)
Bregenz, Austria, 11:06 local time (10:06 UTC)
Milan, Italy, 11:08 (10:08 UTC) – unconfirmed source
Petrozavodsk, Russia, 13:25 local time (10:25 UTC)
Kyiv, Ukraine, 12:28 local time (10:28 UTC)
Ulcinj, Montenegro, 11:34 local time (10:34 UTC)
Moscow, Russia, 13:35 local time (10:35 UTC)
Leeds, United Kingdom, 10:30 UTC/GMT

Simulation[edit]

Related eclipses[edit]

Eclipses of 2015[edit]

A total solar eclipse on March 20.
A total lunar eclipse on April 4.
A partial solar eclipse on September 13.
A total lunar eclipse on September 28.

Solar eclipses descending node 2015-2018[edit]

Saros 120: Total Solar Eclipse March 20, 2015
Saros 130: Total Solar Eclipse March 8–9, 2016
Saros 140: Annular Solar Eclipse February 26, 2017
Saros 150: Partial Solar Eclipse February 15, 2018

Lunar eclipses[edit]

A total lunar eclipse followed on April 4, 2015, visible over Australia, and the Pacific coast of Asia and North America.^[22]

Solar eclipses 2015–2018[edit]

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.^[23]

Solar eclipse series sets from 2015 to 2018
Saros	Map	Gamma	Saros	Map	Gamma
Descending node			Ascending node
120 Longyearbyen, Svalbard	2015 March 20 Total	0.94536	125 Solar Dynamics Observatory	2015 September 13 Partial (south)	−1.10039
130 Balikpapan, Indonesia	2016 March 9 Total	0.26092	135 L'Étang-Salé, Réunion	2016 September 1 Annular	−0.33301
140 Partial from Buenos Aires	2017 February 26 Annular	−0.45780	145 Casper, Wyoming	2017 August 21 Total	0.43671
150 Partial from Olivos, Buenos Aires	2018 February 15 Partial (south)	−1.21163	155 Partial from Huittinen, Finland	2018 August 11 Partial (north)	1.14758

Partial solar eclipses on July 13, 2018, and January 6, 2019, occur during the next semester series.

Saros series[edit]

This eclipse is a part of Saros cycle 120, repeating every 18 years, 11 days, containing 71 events. The series started with partial solar eclipse on May 27, 933 AD, and reached an annular eclipse on August 11, 1059. It was a hybrid event for 3 dates: May 8, 1510, through May 29, 1546, and total eclipses from June 8, 1564, through March 30, 2033. The series ends at member 71 as a partial eclipse on July 7, 2195. The longest duration of totality was 2 minutes, 50 seconds on March 9, 1997. All eclipses in this series occurs at the Moon’s descending node.

Series members 55–65 occur between 1901 and 2100
55	56	57
January 14, 1907	January 24, 1925	February 4, 1943
58	59	60
February 15, 1961	February 26, 1979	March 9, 1997
61	62	63
March 20, 2015	March 30, 2033	April 11, 2051
64	65
April 21, 2069	May 2, 2087

Metonic series[edit]

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.

21 eclipse events between June 1, 2011 and June 1, 2087
May 31 – June 1	March 19–20	January 5–6	October 24–25	August 12–13
118	120	122	124	126
June 1, 2011	March 20, 2015	January 6, 2019	October 25, 2022	August 12, 2026
128	130	132	134	136
June 1, 2030	March 20, 2034	January 5, 2038	October 25, 2041	August 12, 2045
138	140	142	144	146
May 31, 2049	March 20, 2053	January 5, 2057	October 24, 2060	August 12, 2064
148	150	152	154	156
May 31, 2068	March 19, 2072	January 6, 2076	October 24, 2079	August 13, 2083
158	160	162	164	166
June 1, 2087			October 24, 2098