On March 20, 2015 – the same date as the equinox – the moon turns new only 14 hours after reaching lunar perigee – the moon’s closest point to Earth in its orbit. Thus this moon is a supermoon – a new supermoon, not visible in our sky, but having a larger-than-average effect on Earth’s oceans. Plus this new supermoon swings right in front of the sun so that the moon’s shadow falls on parts of Earth. From high northern latitudes (near Greenland and Iceland), there is a total eclipse of the sun. A much larger swath of the world gets to see varying degrees of a partial solar eclipse (Greenland, Iceland, Europe, northern Africa, the Middle East and northwestern Asia).
What is a supermoon?
Remember to use proper eye protection if you want to observe this eclipse. The photo at the top of this post – by Flickr user David – shows how to safely watch a partial solar eclipse by the projection method.
Note on the worldwide map below that the path of totality (in blue) passes mainly over the frigid waters of North Atlantic Ocean. The path of totality starts at sunrise to the south of Greenland, circles to the east of Greenland and Iceland at midday, and ends to the north of Greenland at sunset. The best spots to watch this total solar eclipse from land are the Faroe Islands and the Svalbard archipelago, which reside right on the semi-circle path of totality.
The path of the total solar eclipse (in blue) starts to the south of Greenland at sunrise and ends to the north of Greenland at sunset. A much larger part of the word (Greenland, Europe, northern Africa, the Middle East and northwestern Asia get to see a partial solar eclipse. Image via NASA eclipse web site
Total eclipse times from land on March 20, 2015
Tórshavn, Faroe Islands
Partial solar eclipse begins: 8:39 a.m. Western European Time (WET)
Total solar eclipse begins: 9:41 a.m. WET
Maximum eclipse: 9:42 a.m. WET
Total solar eclipse ends: 9:43 a.m. WET
Partial solar eclipse ends: 10:48 a.m. WET
Longyearbyen, Svalbard
Partial solar eclipse begins: 10:12 a.m. Central European Time (CET)
Total solar eclipse begins: 11:11 a.m. CET
Maximum eclipse: 11:12 a.m. CET
Total solar eclipse ends: 11:13 a.m. CET
Partial solar eclipse ends: 12:12 a.m. CET
Source: TimeandDate.com
You can obtain specific information on the partial eclipse in your part of the world at the following sites listed below. Most of these pages give the eclipse times in Universal Time, meaning you must convert Universal Time into your time. Below these links we list the local times of the partial solar eclipse for chosen localities in the eclipse zone.
TimeandDate.com – gives eclipse times in local time
HM Nautical Almanac – eclipse animations for 534 localities
Interactive Google map – information is just a click away
Solar eclipse computer – courtesy of the US Naval observatory
Partial solar eclipse in local time
Reykjavik, Iceland
Solar eclipse begins: 8:38 a.m. Greenwich Mean Time (GMT)
Greatest eclipse: 9:37 a.m. GMT
Solar eclipse ends: 10:39 a.m. GMT
Maximum obscuration of solar disk: 98%
London, England
Solar eclipse begins: 8:25 a.m. Central European Time (GMT)
Greatest eclipse: 9:31 a.m. GMT
Solar eclipse ends: 10:41 a.m. GMT
Maximum obscuration of solar disk: 53%
Algiers, Algeria
Solar eclipse begins: 9:06 a.m. Central European Time (CET)
Greatest eclipse: 10:11 a.m. CET
Solar eclipse ends: 11:20 a.m. CET
Maximum obscuration of solar disk: 53%
Istanbul, Turkey
Solar eclipse begins: 10:53 p.m. Eastern European Time (EET)
Greatest eclipse: 11:57 a.m. EET
Solar eclipse ends: 1:02 p.m. EET
Maximum obscuration of solar disk: 32%
Moscow, Russia
Solar eclipse begins: 12:13 p.m. Moscow Standard Time (MST)
Greatest eclipse: 1:20 p.m. MST
Solar eclipse ends: 2:27 p.m. MST
Maximum obscuration of solar disk: 58%
via Supermoon causes total eclipse of equinox sun on March 20 | Tonight | EarthSky.
