Three eclipses in a month: June 2011

From June 1 to July 1, 2011, there will be three eclipses.

The first eclipse on June 1 was a partial solar eclipse at the Moon’s descending node in Taurus. It was best seen from the Northern Hemisphere, particularly in Siberia, China and Alaska. People in Iceland, Norway, Sweden, and Finland also had a good view of the eclipse.

The second eclipse on June 15 was a total lunar eclipse which occurred at the Moon’s ascending node in southern Ophiuchus west of the Lagoon Nebula. The Moon passed through Earth’s shadow over a reasonably long period of time – 100 minutes. The last time a lunar eclipse lasted longer than 100 minutes was in July 2000. The whole 100 minutes was best seen in eastern Africa, the Middle East, central Asia and Western Australia. People in much of Europe only saw the last stages of the eclipse, whereas people in eastern Asia, eastern Australia and New Zealand only saw the beginning stages of the eclipse. None of the eclipse was seen from North America.

The next eclipse on July 1 will be a partial solar eclipse, the third this year. It will take place at the Moon’s descending node in western Gemini. It will be visible in the Southern Hemisphere, particularly south of South Africa and in the Antarctic Ocean. Because it is only visible at the very southern end of the globe, most people won’t be able to see it.

The first eclipse this year – a partial solar eclipse - occurred on January 4. Another partial solar eclipse will occur on November 25, this year. The last eclipse of 2011 is a total lunar eclipse on December 10.

Four partial solar and two total lunar eclipses take place in 2011. This 4:2 combination of solar and lunar eclipses in a single year is rather rare with only six cases during the 21st Century (2011, 2029, 2047, 2065, 2076 and 2094). The first and last eclipses always occur in January and December.

(http://eclispe.gsfc.nasa.gov/)

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