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Solar eclipse of August 11, 1999
Totality from France
Map
Type of eclipse
Nature	Total
Gamma	0.5062
Magnitude	1.0286
Maximum eclipse
Duration	2m 23s
Coordinates	45.1N 24.3E
Max. width of band	112 km
Times (UTC)
Greatest eclipse	11:04:09
References
Saros	145 (21 of 77)
Catalog # (SE5000)	9506

A total solar eclipse occurred on August 11, 1999 with an eclipse magnitude of 1.029. A solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes between Earth and the Sun, thereby totally or partially obscuring Earth's view of the Sun. A total solar eclipse occurs when the Moon's apparent diameter is larger than the Sun, blocking all direct sunlight, turning day into darkness. Totality occurs in a narrow path across the surface of the Earth, while a partial solar eclipse will be visible over a region thousands of miles wide.

The path of the moon's shadow began in the Atlantic Ocean and, before noon, was traversing Cornwall, Devon, northern France, Luxembourg, southern Germany, Austria, Slovenia, Hungary, and northern Serbia. Its maximum was at 11:03 UTC at 45°06′N 24°18′E / 45.1°N 24.3°E / 45.1; 24.3 in Romania (next to a town called Ocnele Mari near Râmnicu Vâlcea); and it continued across Bulgaria, the Black Sea, Turkey, Iran, southern Pakistan and Srikakulam in India and ended in the Bay of Bengal.

It was the first total eclipse visible from Europe since July 22, 1990, and the first visible in the United Kingdom since June 29, 1927.

Observations

The eclipse as seen from France.

Because of the high density populated in the areas of the path, there is little doubt that this was the most-viewed total solar eclipse in human history; although some areas in the path of totality (mainly in Western-Europe) offered impaired visibility due to adverse weather conditions.

Some of the organised eclipse-watching parties along the path of totality set up video projectors on which people could watch the shadow as it raced towards them.^[1] There was substantial coverage on European TV stations of the progress of the eclipse shadow. The Moon's shadow was also observed from the Russian Mir space station; during the eclipse, video from Mir was broadcast live on television.

• The BBC concentrated its coverage efforts on the first landfall of the shadow across the western end of Cornwall ( from St Ives to Lizard), which was packed with an extraordinary number of visitors, although Cornwall did not have nearly as many as expected leading to many specially organised events to be left with very small attendance.. The veteran eclipse-watcher, Patrick Moore, was brought in to head a live programme, but the eclipse was clouded out. BBC One also produced a special version of their Balloon Idents for the event. Unfortunately, the BBC did not have a presence at Goonhilly on the Lizard Peninsula, as this was one of the few places in Cornwall where the clouds parted just in time for the total eclipse to be visible.
• Some of the best viewing conditions were to be had mid-Channel, where ferries were halted in calm conditions to obtain an excellent view.
• A gathering of several thousand people at the airport in Soissons, France, which was on the path of totality, were denied all but a few fleeting glimpses of the eclipse through the overcast sky. Frustratingly, the clouds cleared completely just a few minutes after the eclipse.
• Further inland, viewing conditions were also perfect at Vouziers, a French country town which was gridlocked by Belgian cars from day-visitors. The patchy cloud covering cleared a short time before the shadow arrived. Some photos from Vouziers were used on the subsequent BBC Sky at Night programme.
• The San Francisco Exploratorium featured a live webcast from a crowded town square in Amasya, Turkey.
• Doordarshan, the national TV channel in India broadcast a live coverage from Srikakulam, hosted by the renowned TV personality, Mona Bhattacharya.
• A Bulgarian Air Force MiG-21 two-seater was used by the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences to study the solar corona. The MiG-21, flying at 1600-1700km/h (M=1,4-1,5) at an altitude of 13,000m, was able to stay in the moon's umbra for 6min. The photographer, an air force pilot, used two film cameras, both fitted with 200mm lenses and infrared filters, and one Digital8 video camera. The flight was sponsored by Mobiltel.

Notable times and coordinates

Animated path

Special 2,000 lei note made for the 1999 total eclipse of the Sun, showing the eclipse path over the map of Romania

Type of the eclipse

Related eclipses

Solar eclipses 1997-2000

This set of solar eclipses repeat approximately every 177 days and 4 hours at alternating nodes of the moon's orbit.

Solar eclipse series sets from 1997–2000

Ascending node			Descending node
Saros	Map		Saros	Map
120	March 9, 1997 Total		125	September 2, 1997 Partial
130	February 26, 1998 Total		135	August 22, 1998 Annular
140	February 16, 1999 Annular		145 Totality France	August 11, 1999 Total
150	February 5, 2000 Partial		155	July 31, 2000 Partial
Partial solar eclipses on July 1, 2000 and December 25, 2000 occur in the next lunar year eclipse set.

Saros 145

This solar eclipse is a part of Saros cycle 145, repeating every 18 year, 11 days, containing 77 events. The series started with partial solar eclipse on January 4, 1639, and reached a first annular eclipse on June 6, 1891. It was a hybrid event on June 17, 1909, and total eclipses from June 29, 1927 through September 9, 2648. The series ends at member 77 as a partial eclipse on April 17, 3009. The longest eclipse will occur on June 25, 2522, with a maximum duration of totality of 7 minutes, 12 seconds. ^[4]

Series members 16-26 occur between 1901 and 2100:

16	17	18
June 17, 1909	June 29, 1927	July 9, 1945
19	20	21
July 20, 1963	July 31, 1981	August 11, 1999
22	23	24
August 21, 2017	September 2, 2035	September 12, 2053
25	26
September 23, 2071	October 4, 2089

Metonic series

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).

This series has 21 eclipse events between August 12, 1942 and August 11, 2018.

August 10-12	May 30	March 18	January 4-5	October 23-24
115	117	119	121	123
August 12, 1942	May 30, 1946	March 18, 1950	January 5, 1954	October 23, 1957
125	127	129	131	133
August 11, 1961	May 30, 1965	March 18, 1969	January 4, 1973	October 23, 1976
135	137	139	141	143
August 10, 1980	May 30, 1984	March 18, 1988	January 4, 1992	October 24, 1995
145	147	149	151	153
August 11, 1999	May 31, 2003	March 19, 2007	January 4, 2011	October 23, 2014
155
August 11, 2018

See also

• List of solar eclipses visible from the United Kingdom 1000–2090 AD

Notes

References

• Earth visibility chart and eclipse statistics Eclipse Predictions by Fred Espenak, NASA/GSFC
  • Google interactive map
  • Besselian elements
• Eclipse at hermit.org
• "Club Krile Magazine", Vol. 11, 1999, "Air Group 2000" Publishing, Sofia, Bulgaria
• The Total Solar Eclipse of 1999 August 11
• Russia expedition

Photos:

• Turkey. Prof. Druckmüller's eclipse photography site
• Hungary. Prof. Druckmüller's eclipse photography site
• France. Prof. Druckmüller's eclipse photography site
• Bulgaria
• Bulgaria
• Solar Corona Shape
• Exploratorium Webcast: Solar Eclipse August 11, 1999
• KryssTal - Eclipse in Cornwall (UK) - totality not seen but scene photographed.
• Solar eclipse of August 11, 1999 Romania, shown in Romanian Maximum Card
• Solar eclipse of August 11, 1999 Romania, shown in Romanian Maximum Card
• Images from Turkey by Crayford Manor House Astronomical Society
• [1] APOD 6/10/2007, Looking Back at an Eclipsed Earth, total eclipse shadow seen from Mir spacestation
• [2] APOD 4/8/2001, The Big Corona, totality by Fred Espenak
• [3] APOD 6/20/2001, Total Eclipse of the Active Sun, from Kecel, Hungary
• [4] APOD 8/19/1999, Light From The Dark Sun, totality from Siofok, Hungary
• Russian scientist observed eclipse
• The 1999 Eclipse in England

Solar eclipses Lists of eclipses Antiquity  · 20th century BCE · 19th century BCE · 18th century BCE · 17th century BCE · 16th century BCE · 15th century BCE · 14th century BCE · 13th century BCE · 12th century BCE · 11th century BCE · 10th century BCE · 9th century BCE · 8th century BCE · 7th century BCE · 6th century BCE · 5th century BCE · 4th century BCE · 3rd century BCE · 2nd century BCE · 1st century BCE · 1st century · 2nd century · 3rd century · 4th century · 5th century · 6th century · 7th century · 8th century · 9th century · 10th century · 11th century · 12th century · 13th century · 14th century · 15th century · 16th century · 17th century · 18th century · 19th century · 20th century · 21st century · 22nd century · 23rd century · 24th century · 25th century · 26th century · 27th century · 28th century · 29th century · 30th century Eclipses seen from: China  · the United Kingdom · Philippines Saros cycles: 110 · 111 · 112 · 113 · 114 · 115 · 116 · 117 · 118 · 119 · 120 · 121 · 122 · 123 · 124 · 125 · 126 · 127 · 128 · 129 · 130 · 131 · 132 · 133 · 134 · 135 · 136 · 137 · 138 · 139 · 140 · 141 · 142 · 143 · 144 · 145 · 146 · 147 · 148 · 149 · 150 · 151 · 152 · 153 · 154 · 155 · 156 · 157 · 158 · 159 · 160 · 161 · 162 Historical eclipses Mursili's eclipse (1312 BC) · Assyrian eclipse (763 BC) · Battle of Halys (585 BC) · Crucifixion darkness and eclipse Past Total/hybrid eclipses 1560 Aug 21 · 1598 Mar 7 · 1652 Apr 8 · 1654 Aug 12 · 1699 Sep 23 · 1715 May 3 · 1724 May 22 · 1766 Feb 9 · 1778 Jun 24 · 1780 Oct 27 · 1806 Jun 16 · 1816 Nov 19 · 1820 Sep 7 · 1824 Jun 26 · 1842 Jul 8 · 1851 Jul 28 · 1853 Nov 30 · 1857 Mar 25 · 1858 Sep 7 · 1860 Jul 18  · 1865 Apr 25 · 1867 Aug 29 · 1868 Aug 18 · 1869 Aug 7 · 1870 Dec 22 · 1871 Dec 12 · 1874 Apr 16 · 1875 Apr 6 · 1878 Jul 29 · 1882 May 17  · 1883 May 6  · 1885 Sep 8  · 1886 Aug 29  · 1887 Aug 19  · 1889 Jan 1 · 1889 Dec 22  · 1893 Apr 16  · 1896 Aug 9  · 1898 Jan 22  · 1900 May 28 · 1901 May 18 · 1903 Sep 21 · 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24 · 1997 Mar 9 · 1998 Feb 26 · 1999 Aug 11 · 2001 Jun 21 · 2002 Dec 4 · 2003 Nov 23 · 2005 Apr 8 · 2006 Mar 29 · 2008 Aug 1 · 2009 Jul 22 Future Total/hybrid eclipses 2010 Jul 11 · 2012 Nov 13 · 2013 Nov 3 · 2015 Mar 20 · 2016 Mar 9 · 2017 Aug 21 · 2019 Jul 2 · 2020 Dec 14 · 2021 Dec 4 · 2023 Apr 20 · 2024 Apr 8 · 2026 Aug 12 · 2027 Aug 2 · 2028 Jul 22 · 2030 Nov 25 · 2031 Nov 14 · 2033 Mar 30 · 2034 Mar 20 · 2035 Sep 2 · 2037 Jul 13 · 2038 Dec 26 · 2039 Dec 15 · 2041 Apr 30 · 2042 Apr 20 · 2043 Apr 9 · 2044 Aug 23 · 2045 Aug 12 · 2046 Aug 2 · 2048 Dec 5 · 2049 Nov 25 · 2050 May 20 · 2052 Mar 30 · 2053 Sep 12 · 2055 Jul 24 · 2057 Jan 5 · 2057 Dec 26 · 2059 May 11 · 2060 Apr 30 · 2061 Apr 20 · 2063 Aug 24 · 2064 Aug 12 · 2066 Dec 17 · 2067 Dec 6 · 2068 May 31 · 2070 Apr 11 · 2071 Sep 23 · 2072 Sep 12 · 2073 Aug 3 · 2075 Jan 16 · 2076 Jan 6 · 2077 May 22 · 2078 May 11 · 2079 May 1 · 2081 Sep 3 · 2082 Aug 24 · 2084 Dec 27 · 2086 Jun 11 · 2088 Apr 21 · 2089 Oct 4 · 2090 Sep 23 · 2091 Aug 15 · 2093 Jan 27 · 2094 Jan 16 · 2095 Jun 2 · 2096 May 22 · 2097 May 11 · 2099 Sep 14 · 2100 Sep 4 · 2186 Jul 16 Past Annular eclipses 1854 May 26 · 1889 Jun 28 · 1901 Nov 11 · 1903 Mar 29 · 1904 Mar 17 · 1905 Mar 6 · 1907 Jul 10 · 1908 Jun 28 · 1911 Oct 22 · 1914 Feb 25 · 1915 Feb 14 · 1915 Aug 10 · 1916 Jul 30 · 1917 Dec 14 · 1918 Dec 3 · 1919 Nov 22 · 1921 Apr 8 · 1922 Mar 28 · 1923 Mar 17 · 1925 Jul 20 · 1926 Jul 9 · 1927 Jan 3 · 1929 Nov 1 · 1932 Mar 7 · 1933 Feb 24 · 1933 Aug 21 · 1934 Aug 10 · 1935 Dec 25 · 1936 Dec 13 · 1937 Dec 2 · 1939 Apr 19 · 1940 Apr 7 · 1941 Mar 27 · 1943 Aug 1 · 1945 Jan 14 · 1947 Nov 12 · 1948 May 9 · 1950 Mar 18 · 1951 Mar 7 · 1951 Sep 1 · 1952 Aug 20 · 1954 Jan 5 · 1954 Dec 25 · 1955 Dec 14 · 1957 Apr 30 · 1958 Apr 19 · 1959 Apr 8 · 1961 Aug 11 · 1962 Jul 31 · 1963 Jan 25 · 1965 Nov 23 · 1966 May 20 · 1969 Mar 18 · 1969 Sep 11 · 1970 Aug 31 · 1972 Jan 16 · 1973 Jan 4 · 1973 Dec 24 · 1976 Apr 29 · 1977 Apr 18 · 1979 Aug 22 · 1980 Aug 10 · 1981 Feb 4 · 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