A partial eclipse of the Sun occurred on Monday 25 December, 2000 UT, lasting from 15:26–19:43 UT. A moderate partial eclipse, with 72% of the Sun covered for viewers closest to the center, created an interesting spectacle for observers from most of North and Central America.

The timings of the phases of the overall eclipse worldwide are as follows. In any particular place it would have been seen for a significantly shorter duration as the shadow moved across the Earth:

Partial eclipse began: 15:26:39 UT
Maximum eclipse: 17:34:52 UT
Partial eclipse ended: 19:43:11 UT

During this eclipse the Sun was 0.542° in apparent diameter, 1.7% larger than average. The Moon was just 3 days before apogee, making it extremely small. At maximum eclipse it was 0.494° in apparent diameter, which is 7.0% smaller than average. This has no real effect on this eclipse, since the Moon's central shadow misses the Earth, making this a partial eclipse. The statistics page has information on the ranges of the sizes of the Sun and Moon, and the Moon data page displays detailed information on the Moon's key dates.

Overview Map

This map sourced from NASA Goddard Space flight Center: GSFC Eclipse Web SiteGSFC Eclipse Web Site
The primary source of all the information on eclipses presented here at Hermit Eclipse. (NASA Goddard Space flight Center)
https://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/eclipse.html
shows the visibility of the partial solar eclipse. (Click on it for the full-sized version.)

Eclipse Season and Saros Series

This eclipse season contains 2 eclipses:

This was the 57th eclipse in solar Saros series 122.The surrounding eclipses in this Saros series are:

This Saros series, solar Saros series 122, is linked to lunar Saros series 115. The nearest partner eclipses in that series are:

Eclipse Parameters

UT Date/time (max) 17:34:53 on 25 Dec UT TDT Date/time (max) 17:35:57 on 25 Dec TDT
Saros Series 122 Number in Series 57
Penumbral Magnitiude Central Magnitiude 0.7228
Gamma 1.1367 Path Width (km) 0
Delta T 1m04s Error ± 0m00s (95%)
Penumbral Duration Partial Duration
Total Duration
Partial Rating Total Rating
Sun Distance 147130389 km (0.7%) Moon Distance 403219 km (93.1%)
Sun Diameter 0.542° Moon Diameter 0.494° - 0.494°
Perigee 22:24 on 12 Dec UT Apogee 15:06 on 28 Dec UT
Contact p1 15:26:39 on 25 Dec UT Contact p2
Contact u1 Contact u2
Max eclipse 17:34:52 on 25 Dec UT
Contact u3 Contact u4
Contact p3 Contact p4 19:43:11 on 25 Dec UT

Note that while all dates and times on this site (except where noted) are in UT, which is within a second of civil time, the dates and times shown in NASA's eclipse listingsGSFC Eclipse Web Site
The primary source of all the information on eclipses presented here at Hermit Eclipse. (NASA Goddard Space flight Center)
https://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/eclipse.html
are in the TDT timescale.

The Sun and Moon distances are shown in km, and as a percentage of their minimum - maximum distances; hence 0% is the closest possible (Earth's perihelion, or the Moon's closest possible perigee) and 100% is the farthest (aphelion, the farthest apogee). The statistics page has information on the ranges of sizes of the Sun and Moon, and the Moon data page displays detailed information on the Moon's key dates.

Data last updated: 2015-06-21 22:11:46 UTC.