Eclipse 2006

The following is a brief description of the NASA Technical Publication "Total Solar Eclipse of 2006 March 29" (NASA/TP-2004-212762):

On 2006 March 29, a total eclipse of the Sun will be visible from within a narrow corridor which traverses half the Earth. The path of the Moon's umbral shadow begins in Brazil and extends across the Atlantic, northern Africa, and central Asia where it ends at sunset in western Mongolia. A partial eclipse will be seen within the much broader path of the Moon's penumbral shadow, which includes the northern two thirds of Africa, Europe, and central Asia.

Detailed predictions for this event are presented and include besselian elements, geographic coordinates of the path of totality, physical ephemeris of the umbra, topocentric limb profile corrections, local circumstances for approximately 350 cities, maps of the eclipse path, weather prospects, the lunar limb profile and the sky during totality. Information on safe eclipse viewing and eclipse photography is included.

Number of Pages: 74.

Publication Date: 2004 November.

NASA eclipse bulletins contain detailed predictions, maps and meteorology for future central solar eclipses of interest. These publications are prepared in cooperation with the Working Group on Eclipses of the International Astronomical Union and are provided as a public service to both the professional and lay communities, including educators and the media. In order to allow a reasonable lead time for planning purposes, subsequent bulletins will be published 18 to 24 months before each event.

The document "Total Solar Eclipse of 2006 March 29" (NASA/TP-2004-212762) was written by Fred Espenak (NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland, USA) and Jay Anderson (Prairie Weather Center, Winnipeg, Manitoba, CANADA). Hard copies of this publication may be ordered using the Bulletin Request Form. Note that you must include a SASE (self-addressed, stamped envelope) with postage for 12 ounces (340 grams) with your request. Do not send cash or checks!

The complete 2006 eclipse publication is also available in electronic format as two Portable Document Format (PDF) files:

The "Low Res" file has low resolution versions of the document figures for faster download. The "High Res" file has the full resolution versions of the figures resulting in a much longer download time. The PDF files require Adobe Acrobat Reader in order to be read. This software is available free at the above link for a number of different computer platforms (Window, Macintosh, UNIX).

A web page is also available which posts all known ERRATA to this publication (applicable to both hard copy and PDF forms of this document).

Permission is freely granted to reproduce any portion of this NASA publication. All uses and/or publication of this material should be accompanied by an appropriate acknowledgment of the source (e.g.- Eclipse maps and data courtesy of Fred Espenak and Jay Anderson, NASA/TP-2004-212762 "Total Solar Eclipse of 2006 March 29").

Comments, suggestions and corrections are solicited to improve the content and layout in subsequent editions of this publication series.

    Fred Espenak                              Jay Anderson
    NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center        Environment Canada
    Planetary Systems Branch, Code 693        123 Main Street, Suite 150     
    Greenbelt, MD 20771                       Winnipeg, MB,           
    USA                                       CANADA  R3C 3V4     

    Fax: 301-286-0212                         Fax: 204-983-0109
    E-mail: espenak@gsfc.nasa.gov      E-mail: jander@cc.umanitoba.ca

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