Solar Eclipse Prime Page

Annular Solar Eclipse of 2003 May 31

Fred Espenak

Introduction

The Annular Solar Eclipse of 2003 May 31 is visible from the following geographic regions:

  • Partial Eclipse: Europe, Asia, northwest North America
  • Annular Eclipse: Iceland, Greenland

The map to the right depicts the geographic regions of eclipse visibility. Click on the map to enlarge it. For an explanation of the features appearing in the map, see Key to Solar Eclipse Maps.

The instant of greatest eclipse takes place on 2003 May 31 at 04:09:23 TD (04:08:18 UT1). This is 2.6 days after the Moon reaches apogee. During the eclipse, the Sun is in the constellation Taurus. The synodic month in which the eclipse takes place has a Brown Lunation Number of 995.

The eclipse belongs to Saros 147 and is number 22 of 80 eclipses in the series. All eclipses in this series occur at the Moon’s ascending node. The Moon moves southward with respect to the node with each succeeding eclipse in the series and gamma decreases.

This annular eclipse is unsual in that it does NOT have a northern path limit. Instead, one edge of the antumbral shadow falls off into space throughout the eclipse. Gamma has a value of 0.9960.

The annular solar eclipse of 2003 May 31 is preceded two weeks earlier by a total lunar eclipse on 2003 May 16.

These eclipses all take place during a single eclipse season.

The eclipse predictions are given in both Terrestrial Dynamical Time (TD) and Universal Time (UT1). The parameter ΔT is used to convert between these two times (i.e., UT1 = TD - ΔT). ΔT has a value of 64.4 seconds for this eclipse.

The following links provide maps and data for the eclipse.

The tables below contain detailed predictions and additional information on the Annular Solar Eclipse of 2003 May 31 .

Eclipse Data: Annular Solar Eclipse of 2003 May 31

Eclipse Characteristics
Parameter Value
Eclipse Magnitude 0.93842
Eclipse Obscuration 0.88064
Gamma 0.99598
Conjunction Times
Event Calendar Date & Time Julian Date
Greatest Eclipse 2003 May 31 at 04:09:22.5 TD (04:08:18.1 UT1) 2452790.672432
Ecliptic Conjunction 2003 May 31 at 04:20:57.2 TD (04:19:52.8 UT1) 2452790.680472
Equatorial Conjunction 2003 May 31 at 04:39:20.5 TD (04:38:16.1 UT1) 2452790.693242
Geocentric Coordinates of Sun and Moon
2003 May 31 at 04:09:22.5 TD (04:08:18.1 UT1)
Coordinate Sun Moon
Right Ascension04h30m33.5s04h29m35.5s
Declination+21°50'57.1"+22°43'13.1"
Semi-Diameter 15'46.5" 14'48.1"
Eq. Hor. Parallax 08.7" 0°54'19.3"
Geocentric Libration of Moon
Angle Value
l -2.6°
b -1.1°
c -7.3°
Prediction Paramaters
Paramater Value
Ephemerides JPL DE406
ΔT 64.4 s
k (penumbra) 0.2725076
k (umbra) 0.2722810
Saros Series 147 (22/80)

Explanation of Solar Eclipse Data Tables

Penumbral Shadow Contacts and Extremes: Annular Solar Eclipse of 2003 May 31

Contacts of Penumbral Shadow with Earth
Contact Event Contact Time
TD		 Time
UT1		 Latitude Longitude
First External ContactP101:47:21.001:46:16.623°22.1'N052°51.1'E
Last External ContactP406:31:08.506:30:04.048°42.6'N160°56.6'W
Extreme Northern and Southern Path Limits of Penumbra
Contact Event Contact Time
TD		 Time
UT1		 Latitude Longitude
North Extreme Path Limit 1N102:12:58.602:11:54.210°51.5'N052°00.3'E
South Extreme Path Limit 1S106:05:33.706:04:29.237°05.6'N164°04.5'W

Explanation of Penumbral Shadow Contacts and Extremes Tables

Umbral Shadow Contacts and Extremes: Annular Solar Eclipse of 2003 May 31

Contacts of Umbral Shadow with Earth
Contact Event Contact Time
TD		 Time
UT1		 Latitude Longitude
First External ContactU103:45:50.603:44:46.156°51.6'N004°40.9'W
Last External ContactU404:32:33.604:31:29.267°56.3'N060°06.7'W
Extreme Northern and Southern Path Limits of Umbra
Contact Event Contact Time
TD		 Time
UT1		 Latitude Longitude
North Extreme Path Limit 1N103:45:59.303:44:54.956°47.1'N004°35.5'W
South Extreme Path Limit 1S104:32:24.704:31:20.367°57.1'N060°20.0'W

Explanation of Umbral Shadow Contacts and Extremes Tables

Central Line Extremes and Duration: Annular Solar Eclipse of 2003 May 31

Extreme Limits of the Central Line
Contact Event Contact Time
TD		 Time
UT1		 Latitude Longitude
Extreme Central Line Limit 1C104:03:10.104:02:05.662°24.7'N021°14.5'W
Extreme Central Line Limit 2C204:15:15.404:14:10.965°29.1'N035°41.7'W

Explanation of Central Line Extremes Table

Greatest Eclipse and Greatest Duration
Event Time
TD		 Time
UT1		 Latitude Longitude Sun
Altitude		 Sun
Azimuth		 Path Width Central
Duration
Greatest Eclipse04:09:22.504:08:18.166°33.4'N024°45.6'W 2.9° 35.1° 4638.5 km03m36.76s
Greatest Duration04:08:58.504:07:54.166°26.6'N023°59.7'W 2.9° 35.4° 4659.5 km03m36.76s

Explanation of Greatest Eclipse and Greatest Duration

Polynomial Besselian Elements: Annular Solar Eclipse of 2003 May 31

Polynomial Besselian Elements
2003 May 31 at 04:00:00.0 TD (=t0)
n x y d l1 l2 μ
0 -0.32387 0.94520 21.8460 0.56440 0.01816 240.6110
1 0.49390 0.12633 0.0057 -0.00005 -0.00005 14.9998
2 0.00005 -0.00017 -0.0000 -0.00001 -0.00001 -0.0000
3 -0.00001 -0.00000 - - - -
Tan ƒ1 0.0046126
Tan ƒ2 0.0045896

At time t1 (decimal hours), each besselian element is evaluated by:

x = x0 + x1*t + x2*t2 + x3*t3 (or x = Σ [xn*tn]; n = 0 to 3)

where: t = t1 - t0 (decimal hours) and t0 = 4.000

Explanation of Polynomial Besselian Elements

Links for the Annular Solar Eclipse of 2003 May 31

Links to Additional Solar Eclipse Information

Eclipse Predictions

Predictions for the Annular Solar Eclipse of 2003 May 31 were generated using the JPL DE406 solar and lunar ephemerides. The lunar coordinates were calculated with respect to the Moon's Center of Mass. The predictions are given in both Terrestrial Dynamical Time (TD) and Universal Time (UT1). The parameter ΔT is used to convert between these two times (i.e., UT1 = TD - ΔT). ΔT has a value of 64.4 seconds for this eclipse.

Acknowledgments

Some of the content on this website is based on the book Thousand Year Canon of Solar Eclipses 1501 to 2500. All eclipse calculations are by Fred Espenak, and he assumes full responsibility for their accuracy.

Permission is granted to reproduce eclipse data when accompanied by a link to this page and an acknowledgment:

"Eclipse Predictions by Fred Espenak, www.EclipseWise.com"

The use of diagrams and maps is permitted provided that they are NOT altered (except for re-sizing) and the embedded credit line is NOT removed or covered.