Total solar eclipse of 24 July 2055
A total solar eclipse crosses the Earth on 24 July 2055. Along a track 121 km wide the Moon blocks the Sun completely, and totality lasts up to 3 min 17 s. The central line runs across South Africa. From Uitenhage the central phase runs 2 min 35 s, with the Sun 36° above the horizon.
The numbers
- Type
- Total solar eclipse
- Date
- 24 July 2055
- Greatest eclipse
- 09:56:06 UTC
- Eclipse magnitude
- 1.036
- Gamma
- 0.8010
- Central duration
- 3 min 17 s
- Path width
- 121 km at greatest eclipse
- Greatest eclipse at
- 33.3°S 25.8°E
See it in 3D
The simulator places the Sun, Earth and Moon at their true relative positions for this date and draws the shadow cones at real scale. You can scrub through the eclipse, drop an observer anywhere, and watch the umbra sweep the surface.
Loads about 300 KB on demand — nothing is downloaded until you press it.
Local circumstances
All times are UTC. Contact times are computed for each city from the Besselian elements against the WGS84 ellipsoid, at sea level and without refraction.
| Place | C1 | C2 | Max | C3 | C4 | Central | Obscured | Sun alt. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UitenhageSouth Africa | 08:24:52 | 09:54:05 | 09:55:26 | 09:56:40 | 11:27:14 | 2 min 35 s | 100.0% | 36° |
| Port ElizabethSouth Africa | 08:25:31 | 09:54:59 | 09:56:06 | 09:57:01 | 11:27:41 | 2 min 02 s | 100.0% | 36° |
| East LondonSouth Africa | 08:29:32 | — | 10:01:26 | — | 11:32:48 | — | 100.0% | 37° |
| Cape TownSouth Africa | 08:11:40 | — | 09:38:26 | — | 11:10:45 | — | 99.2% | 34° |
| Port-aux-FrançaisFrench Southern Territories | 09:51:40 | — | 11:02:46 | — | 12:08:08 | — | 94.3% | 6° |
| BotshabeloSouth Africa | 08:23:42 | — | 09:56:26 | — | 11:29:57 | — | 92.6% | 41° |
| BloemfonteinSouth Africa | 08:22:25 | — | 09:55:06 | — | 11:28:44 | — | 92.5% | 41° |
| MaseruLesotho | 08:25:26 | — | 09:58:26 | — | 11:31:39 | — | 92.3% | 41° |
C1 and C4 are first and last contact, when the Moon's disc touches the Sun's. C2 and C3 bracket the central phase. 88 of the 2,250 cities in the database see at least a 3% partial eclipse.
How these figures were produced
Positions come from astronomy-engine, a VSOP87/ELP implementation. From the geocentric Sun and Moon vectors the site computes Besselian elements — x, y, d, μ, l1, l2, tan f1 and tan f2 — and solves the observer's position on the fundamental plane against the WGS84 ellipsoid. Central durations agree with NASA's Five Millennium Canon to within about half a second. Full method and validation.