Future Eclipse Paths on the Internet

Presently, the NASA eclipse bulletins are published 24 to 36 months before each eclipse. However, there have been a growing number of requests for eclipse path data with an even greater lead time. To accommodate the demand, predictions have been generated for all central solar eclipses from 1991 through 2030. All predictions are based on j = 2 ephemerides for the Sun [Newcomb, 1895] and Moon [Brown, 1919, and Eckert, Jones and Clark, 1954]. The value used for the Moon's secular acceleration is n-dot = -26 arc sec/cy*cy, as deduced by Morrison and Ward [1975]. A correction of -0.6" was added to the Moon's ecliptic latitude to account for the difference between the Moon's center of mass and center of figure. The value for delta-T is from direct measurements during the 20th century and extrapolation into the 21st century. The value used for the Moon's mean radius is k = 0.272281.

The umbral path characteristics have been predicted at 2 minute intervals of time compared to the 6 minute interval used in Fifty Year Canon of Solar Eclipses: 1986-2035 [Espenak, 1987]. This should provide enough detail for making preliminary plots of the path on larger scale maps. Global maps using an orthographic projection also present the regions of partial and total (or annular) eclipse. The index page for the path tables and maps is:

http://sunearth.gsfc.nasa.gov/eclipse/SEpath/SEpath.html

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