Publisher's Synopsis
This work is the twelfth in a series of NASA publications containing detailed predictions, maps, and meteorological data for future total and annular solar eclipses of interest. Published as part of NASA's Technical Publication (TP) series, the eclipse bulletins 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, eclipse bulletins are published 18 to 24 months before each event. On 2009 July 22, a total eclipse of the Sun is visible from within a narrow corridor that traverses half the Earth. The path of the Moon's umbral shadow begins in India and crosses through Nepal, Bangladesh, Bhutan and China before curving south across the Pacific Ocean. A partial eclipse is seen within the much broader path of the Moon's penumbral shadow, which includes most of eastern Asia, Indonesia, and the Pacific Ocean. 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 approx. 250 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.
