A partial
solar eclipse
A solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes between Earth and the Sun, thereby obscuring the view of the Sun from a small part of Earth, totally or partially. Such an alignment occurs approximately every six months, during the eclipse season i ...
occurred at the Moon's
ascending node
An orbital node is either of the two points where an orbit intersects a plane of reference to which it is inclined. A non-inclined orbit, which is contained in the reference plane, has no nodes.
Planes of reference
Common planes of referenc ...
of orbit on Sunday, September 13, 2015,
with a
magnitude
Magnitude may refer to:
Mathematics
*Euclidean vector, a quantity defined by both its magnitude and its direction
*Magnitude (mathematics), the relative size of an object
*Norm (mathematics), a term for the size or length of a vector
*Order of ...
of 0.7875. A
solar eclipse
A solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes between Earth and the Sun, thereby obscuring the view of the Sun from a small part of Earth, totally or partially. Such an alignment occurs approximately every six months, during the eclipse season i ...
occurs when the
Moon
The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite. It Orbit of the Moon, orbits around Earth at Lunar distance, an average distance of (; about 30 times Earth diameter, Earth's diameter). The Moon rotation, rotates, with a rotation period (lunar ...
passes between
Earth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to Planetary habitability, harbor life. This is enabled by Earth being an ocean world, the only one in the Solar System sustaining liquid surface water. Almost all ...
and the
Sun
The Sun is the star at the centre of the Solar System. It is a massive, nearly perfect sphere of hot plasma, heated to incandescence by nuclear fusion reactions in its core, radiating the energy from its surface mainly as visible light a ...
, thereby totally or partly obscuring the image of the Sun for a viewer on Earth. A partial solar eclipse occurs in the polar regions of the Earth when the center of the Moon's shadow misses the Earth.
A partial eclipse was visible for parts of
Southern Africa
Southern Africa is the southernmost region of Africa. No definition is agreed upon, but some groupings include the United Nations geoscheme for Africa, United Nations geoscheme, the intergovernmental Southern African Development Community, and ...
and
East Antarctica
East Antarctica, also called Greater Antarctica, constitutes the majority (two-thirds) of the Antarctic continent, lying primarily in the Eastern Hemisphere south of the Indian Ocean, and separated from West Antarctica by the Transantarctic ...
.
Images
Eclipse details
Shown below are two tables displaying details about this particular solar eclipse. The first table outlines times at which the moon's penumbra or umbra attains the specific parameter, and the second table describes various other parameters pertaining to this eclipse.
Eclipse season
This eclipse is part of an
eclipse season
An eclipse season is a period, roughly every six months, when eclipses occur. Eclipse seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of the Orbit of the Moon, Moon's orbital plane (orbital inclination, tilted five degrees to the ecliptic, Earth ...
, a period, roughly every six months, when eclipses occur. Only two (or occasionally three) eclipse seasons occur each year, and each season lasts about 35 days and repeats just short of six months (173 days) later; thus two full eclipse seasons always occur each year. Either two or three eclipses happen each eclipse season. In the sequence below, each eclipse is separated by a
fortnight
A fortnight is a unit of time equal to 14 days (two weeks). The word derives from the Old English term , meaning "" (or "fourteen days", since the Anglo-Saxons counted by nights).
Astronomy and tides
In astronomy, a ''lunar fortnight'' is hal ...
.
Related eclipses
Eclipses in 2015
*
A total solar eclipse on March 20.
*
A total lunar eclipse on April 4.
* A partial solar eclipse on September 13.
*
A total lunar eclipse on September 28.
Metonic
* Preceded by:
Solar eclipse of November 25, 2011
A partial solar eclipse occurred at the Moon’s ascending node of orbit on Friday, November 25, 2011, with a magnitude of 0.9047. A solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes between Earth and the Sun, thereby totally or partly obscuring the image ...
* Followed by:
Solar eclipse of July 2, 2019
Tzolkinex
* Preceded by:
Solar eclipse of August 1, 2008
A total solar eclipse occurred at the Moon's Lunar node, descending node of orbit on Friday, August 1, 2008, with a Magnitude of eclipse, magnitude of 1.0394. A solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes between Earth and the Sun, thereby totally o ...
* Followed by:
Solar eclipse of October 25, 2022
Half-Saros
* Preceded by:
Lunar eclipse of September 7, 2006
* Followed by:
Lunar eclipse of September 18, 2024
Tritos
* Preceded by:
Solar eclipse of October 14, 2004
A partial solar eclipse occurred at the Moon's descending node of orbit between Wednesday, October 13 and Thursday, October 14, 2004, with a magnitude of 0.9282. A solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes between Earth and the Sun, thereby tot ...
* Followed by:
Solar eclipse of August 12, 2026
A total solar eclipse will occur at the Moon's descending node of orbit on Wednesday, 12 August 2026, with a magnitude of 1.0386. A solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes between Earth and the Sun, thereby totally or partly obscuring the image ...
Solar Saros 125
* Preceded by:
Solar eclipse of September 2, 1997
A partial solar eclipse occurred at the Moon's ascending node of orbit between Monday, September 1 and Tuesday, September 2, 1997, with a magnitude of 0.8988. A solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes between Earth and the Sun, thereby totally o ...
* Followed by:
Solar eclipse of September 23, 2033
A partial solar eclipse will occur at the Moon's ascending node of orbit on Friday, September 23, 2033, with a magnitude of 0.689. A solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes between Earth and the Sun, thereby totally or partly obscuring the image ...
Inex
* Preceded by:
Solar eclipse of October 3, 1986
A total solar eclipse occurred at the Moon's Lunar node, descending node of orbit on Friday, October 3, 1986, with a Magnitude of eclipse, magnitude of 1. It was a hybrid event, with only a fraction of its path as total, and longer sections at th ...
* Followed by:
Solar eclipse of August 23, 2044
A total solar eclipse will occur at the Moon's descending node of orbit between Monday, August 22 and Tuesday, August 23, 2044, with a magnitude of 1.0364. A solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes between Earth and the Sun, thereby totally or p ...
Triad
* Preceded by:
Solar eclipse of November 12, 1928
A partial solar eclipse occurred at the Moon's descending node of orbit on Monday, November 12, 1928, with a magnitude of 0.8078. A solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes between Earth and the Sun, thereby totally or partly obscuring the image ...
* Followed by:
Solar eclipse of July 15, 2102
Solar may refer to:
Astronomy
* Of or relating to the Sun
** Solar telescope, a special purpose telescope used to observe the Sun
** A device that utilizes solar energy (e.g. "solar panels")
** Solar calendar, a calendar whose dates indicate t ...
Solar eclipses of 2015–2018
Saros 125
Metonic series
Tritos series
Inex series
References
NASA: Besselian Elements - Partial Solar Eclipse of 2015 September 13
External links
{{Solar eclipses
2015 9 13
2015 in science
2015 9 13
September 2015