Eclipses for the rest of 2009

Partial lunar eclipse - December 31, 2009
A partial lunar eclipse occurs when the moon passes part of the way into the earth's umbral shadow cone (the darkest part of the earth's shadow). For this eclipse, only a very small part of the moon will pass into the umbral cone. You may think of the moon's disk as looking like a cookie with a nibble taken out near the southern part. The partial phase will last an hour and two minutes. The eclipse will be visible from the northern fringes of North America, Europe, Africa, Asia, and most of Australia.

The penumbral phase begins at 17:15 and ends at 21:30. The umbral phase is from 18:52 to 19:54.

Here's a visibility map for this eclipse.

Eclipses in 2010

Annular solar eclipse - January 15, 2010

An annular eclipse of the sun will occur on January 15, 2010. This is the kind of eclipse that happens when the moon is too far away to completely block the sun. Viewers in the right places will see a ring in the sky where the sun is. Since there's still a considerable amount of ultraviolet reaching the earth's surface during this type of eclipse, anyone observing it is warned to use safe viewing methods. Filters made specifically for viewing the sun will keep the dangerous radiation from reaching the eyes. It's also possible to project an image of the sun with a pinhole viewer or other apparatus.

This eclipse's path is plotted here on two maps: equirectangular and orthographic. Annularity will be visible from parts of Africa, the Indian Ocean, and Asia. Partial phases will be visible from much more of those places, plus Europe.

Partial lunar eclipse - June 26, 2010

The moon will pass partway into, then out of, the earth's shadow during about five and a half hours. The moon will be setting as this eclipse begins for those watching from the Americas. The entire eclipse will be visible from the Pacific Ocean, Antarctica, and much of Australia. Western Australia and eastern Asia will see this eclipse ending during moonrise. Here's the visibility map.

Total solar eclipse - July 11, 2010

July 11, 2010 will bring a total eclipse of the sun along a path over the south Pacific Ocean to South America. The longest totality will last is 5 minutes, 20 seconds. Partial phases will be visible from much larger areas of the south Pacific and South America. The path is plotted here on two maps: an equirectangular and an orthographic. Only during totality is it safe to look at the eclipse with the unprotected eye. At all other times, the observer must use a safer viewing method such as a specially made solar filter or a device that projects an image of the sun.

Total lunar eclipse - December 21, 2010

The final eclipse of 2010 is a total eclipse of the moon. It'll be visible in its entirety from North America, most of the Pacific, and far northern Asia. It'll be a moonset eclipse for South America, western Africa, and part of Europe. Eclipse will occur during moonrise for much of Australia and eastern Asia. Totality lasts 1 hour, 12 minutes. Here's a visibility map.