Eclipse Circumstances and Where to View?

The total solar eclipse of 11 August 1999 was visible along a narrow path (30 to 70 miles wide) starting in the Atlantic Ocean about 300 miles east of Boston at sunrise.  After a long track across the north Atlantic, the moon's dark shadow (umbra) darkened portions of England, France, Luxembourg, Germany, Austria, Hungary, Romania, the Black Sea, Turkey, Iraq, Iran, Pakistan, and India before disappearing at sunset in the Indian Ocean.  The NASA map below, by eclipse expert Fred Espenak, shows the narrow path of totality across the globe, along with parallel lines north and south of the path showing where the event was seen as a partial eclipse at 80%, 60%, 40%, and 20% magnitudes.  Fred Espanek maintains the NASA/GSFC Eclipse Page and MrEclipse Page, which are in my opinion the most comprehensive web sites for the full details of past and future solar (and lunar) eclipses.
 
 
World Map of the Total Solar Eclipse of 11 Aug 99
Path of Totality and Visibility for the Total Solar Eclipse of 11 Aug 1999
In considering where to view the eclipse, weather prospects and cost were my primary factors.  For me, places like Iran and Iraq were out of consideration due to the political situation despite the excellent weather prospects.  Turkey was an option with its good weather prospects, but I had concerns about traffic safety and it was also a bit on the expensive side.  I chose a 7-day trip to Hungary organized by some folks from the Amateur Telescope Makers of Boston (ATMoB) and Vacations, Etc.  According to the experts, the path of totality in Hungary had about a 65% chance of favorable weather on eclipse day based on climatologic records--not great but an acceptable risk.  I used Delta Airlines frequent flyer miles to get my Swiss Air flight from Boston to Budapest (Hungary) and back, keeping my cost for the trip at less than $100/day.  I ruled out sites west of Hungary because the weather prospects were progressively worse, and I wanted to see this eclipse.  After almost being clouded out of the eclipse in Aruba (26 Feb 98), I had gotten a taste of what that disappointment could be like.
The organizers of the ATMoB trip had selected and reserved an observation site on the centerline of the path of totality, on the west shore of Lake Balaton.   The eclipse viewing site was at the Marina Hotel (Latitude 46°56.9'N, Longitude 17°52.8'E), in the small resort town of Balatonfüred.  Being on the centerline versus off center maximizes the length of totality; this particular eclipse would provided 2 minutes and 22 seconds of darkness in the early afternoon at this location.  The NASA map below shows the path of the moon's oval-shaped shadow through Hungary.  The position of the moon's shadow at 10:50 UT (12:50 pm local time in Hungary) is shown by the middle oval in the map.  Since mid-totality at the Marina Hotel was calculated to be 12:49:59 pm (one second earlier than 12:50 pm), the position of the shadow shown by the middle oval corresponds almost exactly to our location at mid-totality.  The table below gives more details on the circumstances for the eclipse at our location at the Marina Hotel, calculated and provided to me by Fred Espenak of the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center.
 
 
Eclipse path through Hungary
Eclipse Path through Hungary
(click on map above to enlarge)


Total Solar Eclipse of 1999 Aug 11
Local Circumstances for Marina Hotel
Balatonfüred, Hungary
Latitude 46°56.9'N, Longitude 17°52.8'E
Sunrise 5:40, Sunset 20:07
Eclipse Duration:  2 hrs 46 min 47.1 sec
Umbral Duration:  2 min 22.1 sec
Eclipse Magnitude:  1.0285
Contact Local Time Sun Altitude Sun Azimuth Sun HA Pos Angle P Pos Angle V Pos Angle Q
1 11:26:10.3 53.5° 142.8° 22.54 hrs 286.4° 312.0° 334.4°
2 12:38:47.8 58.4° 177.7° 23.92 hrs 107.9° 109.5° 358.4°
mid 12:49.58.9 58.4° 178.3° 23.94 hrs 197.6° 198.8° 358.8°
3 12:51:10.0 58.4° 178.8° 23.96 hrs 287.9° 288.8° 359.2°
4 14:12:57.3 54.3° 214.1° 1.32 hrs 108.9° 85.4° 23.6°
Above circumstances were graciously provided by Fred Espanek, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
 

Next Chapter - Vacation in Budapest

Previous Chapter - Eric's Total Solar Eclipse Home Page


Table of Contents

Eric's 1999 Total Solar Eclipse Home Page
Eclipse Circumstances and Where to View?
Vacation in Budapest
Eclipse Day Eve
Eclipse Day
My Equipment Setup
Planned Environmental Measurements
First Contact and Moon's Shadow
Totality!
Third Contact and Beyond
Environmental Measurement Results
Additional Video Frames
Additional Eclipse Photos
Eclipse Links
Email comments, questions, or suggestions to Eric Pauer at pauer@bit-net.com.
This page was last updated on 23 October 99.