Predicting and mapping eclipses.
How in the world do they do it ?
January 16 and 23, 2025
The two recent American solar eclipses introduced millions to the incredible details and maps available online – having almost god-like accuracy. One group producing predictions and maps is Time and Date, headquartered in Norway. Several AAA classes used their maps as we prepared for the 2023 and 2024 eclipses.
Their website Timeanddate.com contains maps for past and future eclipses. It also gives significant information on worldwide time zones, weather, and astronomy. You should explore it.
These were portions of Time and Date maps for the total eclipse of April 8, 2024.
What ingenious data and calculations underlie these maps and data?
This is the theme of these two AAA classes.
Class 1- Thursday, January 16, 2025, 7-9 PM online
A review of the 3 primary elements of solar eclipses, namely, the three distinct orbital cycles of the moon. These determine if a solar eclipse is possible and what type of eclipse it shall be. These also underlie the well-known and ancient Saros Cycle of 18 years/10 days/3 hours. After this span of time a particular eclipse is repeated in its path’s shape, direction, duration, and type… but not location on Earth. Every solar eclipse is a member of a family with the same Saros number which lasts for about 1400 years.
Instructor: David Kiefer
Chair of AAA Classes Committee, AAA Board member. Astronomy lecturer, Brooklyn College.
Class 2- Thursday, January 23, 2025, 7-9 PM online
Introducing secondary elements of eclipses vital to calculating and mapping them. Where does the moon’s shadow first strike the Earth? What path does the shadow take across the planet’s surface, with what speed and size, at what time and duration at every location?
There are also tertiary elements within eclipses such as the sun’s distance, the varying rotation rate of Earth, and Earth’s actual shape which is not a perfect sphere.
Instructors: Graham Jones and Brendan Goodenough
Astrophysicists at Time and Date.
NOTE: These classes will not be available as Zoom recordings.
Time and Date plans to use our classes as a trial, exploratory run for material it will expand upon and make available to its members and public via its website. In a small way these classes may enhance astronomy world-wide since details on predicting and mapping eclipses are hard to come by.
Registration opens here December 16, 2024.
$24 for members, $30 for nonmembers.
[Do you have relatives and friends that might want to know of this class? Forward this or suggest they visit AAA.org/classes to consider it. They may thank you for doing so, as does the AAA for helping to support our events.]
