Panchang · Eclipses · Birmingham

Eclipses in 2015

2015 has 2 solar and 2 lunar eclipses; 2 are visible from Birmingham.

Times in Birmingham (Europe/London, GMT/BST).

Year

City

This year’s eclipses

Times in Birmingham (Europe/London, GMT/BST). A lunar eclipse’s phases happen at the same instant everywhere; whether you see it depends on the Moon being above your horizon. A solar eclipse’s times and extent differ from city to city.

Surya grahan

Total solar eclipse

Friday, 20 March 2015

Visible from Birmingham

Visible from Birmingham from 8:25 am to 10:40 am.

Times at Birmingham

Begins (sparsha): Fri, 20 Mar, 8:25 am
Greatest at this city (madhya): Fri, 20 Mar, 9:30 am
Ends (moksha): Fri, 20 Mar, 10:40 am
Magnitude here (fraction of the Sun’s diameter): 0.891

Across the Earth

Eclipse begins somewhere on Earth: Fri, 20 Mar, 7:40 am
Central path begins: Fri, 20 Mar, 9:08 am
Greatest eclipse: Fri, 20 Mar, 9:45 am
Central path ends: Fri, 20 Mar, 10:22 am
Eclipse ends everywhere on Earth: Fri, 20 Mar, 11:50 am
Magnitude at greatest: 1.045

Sutak^†: Thu, 19 Mar, 8:25 pm to 20 Mar, 10:40 am (from 12 hours, four prahar before the eclipse begins until it ends).

Chandra grahan

Partial lunar eclipse

Saturday, 4 April 2015

Not visible from Birmingham

Not visible from Birmingham.

Phases (the same instant everywhere)

Penumbral phase begins: Sat, 4 Apr, 10:01 am
Partial phase begins (sparsha): Sat, 4 Apr, 11:15 am
Totality begins: Sat, 4 Apr, 12:57 pm
Greatest eclipse (madhya): Sat, 4 Apr, 1:00 pm
Totality ends: Sat, 4 Apr, 1:02 pm
Partial phase ends (moksha): Sat, 4 Apr, 2:44 pm
Penumbral phase ends: Sat, 4 Apr, 3:59 pm
Umbral magnitude: 1.001

Sutak^†: None at Birmingham: the texts count a grahan’s sutak only where the eclipse is seen.

Surya grahan

Partial solar eclipse

Sunday, 13 September 2015

Not visible from Birmingham

Not visible from Birmingham.

Across the Earth

Eclipse begins somewhere on Earth: Sun, 13 Sep, 5:41 am
Greatest eclipse: Sun, 13 Sep, 7:54 am
Eclipse ends everywhere on Earth: Sun, 13 Sep, 10:06 am
Magnitude at greatest: 0.793

Sutak^†: None at Birmingham: the texts count a grahan’s sutak only where the eclipse is seen.

Chandra grahan

Total lunar eclipse

Monday, 28 September 2015

Visible from Birmingham

Visible from Birmingham from 2:07 am to 5:27 am.

Phases (the same instant everywhere)

Penumbral phase begins: Mon, 28 Sep, 1:11 am
Partial phase begins (sparsha): Mon, 28 Sep, 2:07 am
Totality begins: Mon, 28 Sep, 3:11 am
Greatest eclipse (madhya): Mon, 28 Sep, 3:47 am
Totality ends: Mon, 28 Sep, 4:23 am
Partial phase ends (moksha): Mon, 28 Sep, 5:27 am
Penumbral phase ends: Mon, 28 Sep, 6:22 am
Umbral magnitude: 1.277

Sutak^†: Sun, 27 Sep, 5:07 pm to 28 Sep, 5:27 am (from 9 hours, three prahar before the eclipse begins until it ends).

† Practice varies. Traditions differ on how long sutak lasts, what it is counted from (first contact, or moonrise when the Moon rises eclipsed) and whom it applies to. The rule used here: from 12 hours before a solar eclipse and 9 hours before a lunar one begins, until it ends, and only where the eclipse is visible. Follow the practice of your family or local almanac.

See also: Rahu · Ketu · Amavasya · Purnima · Festivals and vrats

Understand

What an eclipse is

A solar eclipse falls on an amavasya, when the Moon passes between the Sun and the Earth; a lunar eclipse on a purnima, when the Earth’s shadow falls on the Moon. It happens only when the Moon is then near one of the two points where its path crosses the Sun’s path. Jyotisha names those two points Rahu and Ketu.

How the texts compute eclipses

Chapters 4 and 5 of the Surya Siddhanta (on lunar and solar eclipses) give the method for the time, the extent and the duration of an eclipse: the positions of the Sun, Moon and Rahu, the sizes of their discs and the size of the shadow. Sparsha (first contact), madhya (middle) and moksha (release) are that tradition’s words.

What the texts say about sutak

Dharmashastra digests such as the Nirnaya Sindhu call the time before an eclipse sutak: four prahar (about 12 hours) before a solar eclipse and three prahar (about 9 hours) before a lunar one. For that time and the eclipse itself they prescribe japa, meditation, bathing and giving, and relax the rules for children, the elderly and the unwell. Sutak is kept only where the eclipse is seen. Details differ between traditions.

Watching a solar eclipse

Never look at the Sun with the naked eye, sunglasses, a camera or binoculars, even during an eclipse. Certified solar-filter glasses or a pinhole projection are the safe ways. A lunar eclipse is safe to watch with the naked eye.

How this is calculated

Sun and Moon positions come from NASA JPL’s DE421 ephemeris; every contact is found by root-finding on the geometry. For 2026–2027 the greatest-eclipse and contact times agree with NASA’s published predictions to within seconds. Visible from a city means the Sun or Moon is above its horizon at the time.