Timezone / Date

You have not selected a timezone for eclipse timings, so all times are shown in UT (essentially GMT).

Accuracy

Due to the erratic rotation of the Earth, the time and location of the eclipse cannot be forecast perfectly. This eclipse's forecast is estimated to be accurate to within 2km in distance and a few seconds in time.

An annular eclipse of the Sun occurred on Monday 26 January, 2009 UT, lasting from 04:56–11:00 UT. A small annular eclipse covered only 93% of the Sun in a very broad path, 280 km wide at maximum, and lasted 7 minutes and 54 seconds. It was visible from south of Africa, across the Indian Ocean and in Australasia. The partial eclipse was visible in southern Africa, and parts of Astralia and South Asia.

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: 04:56:38 UT
Annular eclipse began: 06:02:39 UT
Maximum eclipse: 07:58:39 UT
Annular eclipse ended: 09:54:44 UT
Partial eclipse ended: 11:00:41 UT

During this eclipse the Sun was 0.541° in apparent diameter, 1.6% larger than average. The Moon was just 3 days past apogee, making it fairly small. At maximum eclipse it was 0.503° in apparent diameter, which is 5.3% smaller than average; this was not large enough to cover the Sun, which is why this was an annular 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.

The annular eclipse started south of Africa, passed east north of the Prince Edward and Possession islands, over the Cocos (Keeling) Islands, and then crossed over Indonesia before finishing.

Interactive Map

This map shows the visibility of the eclipse. The shaded area saw the annular solar eclipse; however, near the edges of this area, the eclipse was very short. The bold line shows the centre of the path, where the eclipse lasted longest.

Use the zoom controls to zoom in and out; hover your mouse over any point on the centreline to see the time and duration of the eclipse at that point. You can pan and zoom the map to see detail for any part of the eclipse path.

The interactive map is currently not available.

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 annular solar eclipse. It also shows the broader area in which a partial eclipse was seen. (Click on it for the full-sized version.)

Eclipse Season and Saros Series

This eclipse season contains 2 eclipses:

This was the 50th eclipse in solar Saros series 131.The surrounding eclipses in this Saros series are:

This Saros series, solar Saros series 131, is linked to lunar Saros series 124. The nearest partner eclipses in that series are:

Eclipse Parameters

UT Date/time (max) 07:58:39 on 26 Jan UT TDT Date/time (max) 07:59:45 on 26 Jan TDT
Saros Series 131 Number in Series 50
Penumbral Magnitiude Central Magnitiude 0.9282
Gamma -0.282 Path Width (km) 280
Delta T 1m06s Error ± 0m00s (95%)
Penumbral Duration Partial Duration
Total Duration 7m54s
Partial Rating Total Rating
Sun Distance 147299552 km (4.2%) Moon Distance 402069 km (90.8%)
Sun Diameter 0.541° Moon Diameter 0.495° - 0.503°
Apogee 00:11 on 23 Jan UT Perigee 20:08 on 7 Feb UT
Contact p1 04:56:38 on 26 Jan UT Contact p2
Contact u1 06:02:39 on 26 Jan UT Contact u2 06:08:58 on 26 Jan UT
Max eclipse 07:58:39 on 26 Jan UT
Contact u3 09:48:29 on 26 Jan UT Contact u4 09:54:44 on 26 Jan UT
Contact p3 Contact p4 11:00:41 on 26 Jan 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.