Solar Eclipse 2012 Dates

Irrespective of whether you are an amateur astronomy enthusiast or a veteran of the field, you are in for a treat in 2012 with two solar eclipses and two lunar eclipses lined up for the year. While that may not seem something incredible, after witnessing four solar and two lunar eclipses in 2011, one has to make a note of the fact that one of the two solar eclipses scheduled for this year is a total eclipse, and other is annular. Add to it the fact that you also get to witness two lunar eclipses in course of the year, and things just get better.

While scientists look at solar eclipse purely as a celestial occurrence, for a layman it is more of a divine intervention. A spectacle that the solar eclipse is, it is no surprise that the event is tracked by millions of people across the world - by some for the sheer fun associated with it and by others for its religious and cultural attributes. Then there are eclipse chasers, people who go to the extent of traveling across the globe to witness an eclipse. The increasing popularity of solar eclipses and other celestial events was highlighted on 15th January, 2010, when people from all corners of the world flocked to Central Africa and South Asia, to witness one of the longest annular eclipse - which lasted for 11 minutes and 8 seconds.

Solar Eclipse: An OverviewBefore we move on to solar eclipse 2012 dates, let's do some revision to see what causes solar eclipse and what are its different types. A solar eclipse is a celestial event which occurs when the moon, in course of orbiting the Earth, comes in between the planet and the Sun in such a manner that it casts its shadow on a particular region of the planet. When viewed from this particular region, the Sun is covered either totally or partially; and hence this event is called 'total solar eclipse' or 'partial solar eclipse'. Basically, there are four types of solar eclipses - a total solar eclipse; wherein the Sun is completely obscured by the moon, an annular solar eclipse; wherein the Sun appears as a bright ring, a hybrid solar eclipse; which is visible as a total eclipse in some parts and annular in other, and lastly, a partial solar eclipse; wherein the Sun is partially covered by the moon.

Solar Eclipse 2012 Schedule

While the total and annular eclipses are rare in nature, partial solar eclipses are relatively more frequent. As we mentioned earlier, there were as many as four solar eclipses in 2011, and all of them were partial in nature. Given below are the details about the two solar eclipses which will take place in 2012, along with the names of various countries/regions from where you can witness them.

Annular Solar Eclipse of 20th May, 2012
The next solar eclipse, which happens to be the first solar eclipse of 2012, will on occur on 20th May, (21st May in the Eastern hemisphere). This annular solar eclipse is a part of the Saros Cycle 128, which repeats itself after every 18 year and 11 days. It will have a magnitude of 0.9439, and will last for 5 minutes 46 seconds. This eclipse will begin at 20:56:07 UTC on 20th May, reach its maximum at 23:53:54 UTC, and end at 2:49:21 UTC. It will be visible for people residing along the western coast of the United States of America, and Canada, as well as the coast of China and southern Japan. This annular eclipse will also be of significance for the continental United States as it is the first since the annular solar eclipse of 10th May, 1994.

Total Solar Eclipse of 13th November, 2012
The second solar eclipse of 2012, which will be a total solar eclipse, will occur on 13th November, 2012. This total solar eclipse will be a part of the Saros Cycle 133, and will have a magnitude of 1.0500. Even though it will last for 4 minutes and 2 seconds, only the beginning of this eclipse will occur over the land. It will begin at 19:37:58 UTC on 13th November, reach its maximum at 22:12:55 UTC, and end at 00:45:34 UTC. A solar eclipse can be witnessed as a total solar eclipse over a narrow path, and as a partial eclipse over a wider region. In case of the 2012 total eclipse, it will be visible as a total solar eclipse from northern Australia (the only part where it will have a landfall) and southern Pacific Ocean.

From the astrology perspective, it is believed that the Sun symbolizes energy and darkness symbolizes evil. When the Sun disappears during a solar eclipse, the evil rules, and the implications of this are seen on everything on the planet. The adverse effects of this are most on those whose sun sign corresponds the constellation in which the Sun is present during the eclipse. In 2012, the solar eclipses will occur in Taurus and Scorpio constellations respectively. While this is the solar eclipse 2012 astrology perspective, there is a lot more lined up for the years to follow, even for those who are not concerned about astrology.

Those were the two solar eclipses that the world will witness in the year 2012. (Other than these two solar eclipses, two lunar eclipses are also lined up for the year - the first will be a partial lunar eclipse which will occur on 4th June, 2012, and the second will be the penumbral lunar eclipse, which will occur on 28th November, 2012.) The following year, i.e. 2013, also has two solar eclipses - the annular solar eclipse of 10th May, 2013, and the hybrid solar eclipse of 3rd November, 2013, which only means that the celestial treat for all the astronomy enthusiasts will continue in the year 2013 as well as the years to come.