Annular Solar Eclipse
May 20, 2012



On May 20, 2102, the Moon passed between the Earth and the Sun. The Moon was near Apogee, the high point in its orbit, so it did not cover the entire face of the Sun, resulting in an annular eclipse. Lunar apogee had occurred about 31 hours before the eclipse. The apogee, 252567 miles from Earth, was the highest of the year.

The centerline of the eclipse passed very near the town of Page, Arizona. My sisters, Debbie and Lisa, and I drove to Page on Sunday. We found a dirt road leading up to a butte south of town and parked about 2,000 feet from the centerline of the eclipse (Latitude: 36.8837° N Longitude: 111.4811° W). The sky was clear except for a thin haze of smoke from wildfires. We could see many cars parked at the Horseshoe Point overlook and the Glen Canyon Dam scenic view below us. Every nce in a while a four wheel drive vehicle drove past onthe way to the top of the butte. We observed the eclipse through cardboard viewer with a sheet of a material that looked like it came from a black garbage bag. The sun turned into a crescent and then a blazing orange neon circle as the light on the landscape faded away. We stayed up there until sunset when the sun was eclipsed by both the Moon and the Earth.

Annular Solar Eclipse, May 20, 2012 Pictures of the Annular Solar Eclipse taken at five minute intervals.

Sell Art Online Annular Solar Eclipse from Page, Arizona on May 20, 2012: You can buy this photo as prints as large as 13.38" x 20".

Solar Eclipse, May 20, 2012 The Moon began to move across the Sun at 5:25 PM Mountain Standard Time at our location.

Solar Eclipse, May 20, 2012 Partial Solar Eclipse.

Solar Eclipse, May 20, 2012 Partial Solar Eclipse.

Solar Eclipse, May 20, 2012 The annular phase of the eclipse started at 6:32:14 PM.

Solar Eclipse, May 20, 2012 The Moon was centered on the face of the Sun at 6:34:30 PM.

Solar Eclipse, May 20, 2012 The annular phase of the eclipse ended at 6:36:45 PM.

Solar Eclipse, May 20, 2012 Partial Solar Eclipse.

Solar Eclipse, May 20, 2012 Partial Solar Eclipse.

Solar Eclipse, May 20, 2012 The Sun dimmed and appeared progressively more oblate as it approached the horizon.

Solar Eclipse, May 20, 2012 The Sun eclipsed by the Moon and the Earth. Sunset began at 7:20.

Solar Eclipse, May 20, 2012 The Earth eclipsed half of the Sun at 7:21:13 PM.

Solar Eclipse, May 20, 2012 The sun set at 7:23, shortly before the end of the eclipse.

Solar Eclipse, May 20, 2012

Page, Arizona, May 20, 2012 Lake Powell.

Page, Arizona, May 20, 2012 Page, Arizona.

Page, Arizona, May 20, 2012 Footprints and tail drag marks provide an indication of the many little critters that inhabit the area.

Page, Arizona, May 20, 2012 Debbie and Lisa view the eclipse through safe solar viewers..

Page, Arizona during Solar Eclipse, May 20, 2012 Page, Arizona during the Solar Eclipse.

I animated my pictures of the annular solar eclipse and added a time lapse movie of the changing light levels during the eclipse.

Event Time (UT) Altitude Azimuth
Start of partial eclipse (C1) 00:24:16.3 023.3° 278.4°
Start of annular eclipse (C2) 01:32:14.0 010.1° 287.8°
Maximum eclipse 01:34:29.9 009.7° 288.1°
End of annular eclipse (C3) 01:36:45.6 009.3° 288.4°
End of partial eclipse (C4) 02:37:08.0 -001.9° 297.2°
Latitude: 36.8848° N Longitude: 111.4862° W
Duration of Annularity: 4 minutes 31.6 seconds
Magnitude: 0.967



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