PARTIAL SOLAR ECLIPSEAmundsen-Scott, AntarcticaSaturday 4 December 2021 · times in UTC+13
90.5%
OF THE SUN COVERED
Almost all of the Sun went. The light weakened and cooled noticeably, shadows sharpened, and the temperature dropped — but it did not get dark, and the remaining sliver was still blinding.
02 · TIMING
When did it happen?
The whole eclipse ran 1h 50m. All times are local, in UTC+13.
20:00 MAX 20:54 21:49
| Phase | LOCAL TIME | SUN |
|---|---|---|
| First contactthe Moon touches the Sun's edge | 20:00 | 22° ENE |
| Maximumthe deepest point | 20:54 | 22° ENE |
| Last contactthe Sun is whole again | 21:49 | 22° NE |
03 · DIRECTION
Where was it in the sky?
At maximum the Sun was only 22° above the horizon to the north-east, so an open view in that direction was needed.
The Sun's height and bearing at maximum, from Amundsen-Scott. The horizon is at 0°.
THE EXPERIENCE
What it was actually like
With 90.5% of the Sun covered the light noticeably weakened and cooled, shadows grew sharp-edged, and the temperature dropped. Gaps between leaves projected rows of crescents onto the ground. The Sun stayed dangerous to look at throughout.
04 · POSITION
Where was it seen?
The path passed 939 km to the west of Amundsen-Scott and was 411 km wide. Only inside it was the Sun covered completely.
THE DAY
- DAY LENGTH
- 24h 00m
REFERENCE FIGURES
- OBSCURATION
- 90.5%
- COORDINATES
- 90° S, 0° E
- PATH WIDTH
- 411 km
- SHADOW SPEED
- 3,884 km/h
- SAROS
- 152 · no. 12
- MAGNITUDE
- 0.9173
- GAMMA
- -0.9525
Contact times are accurate to a couple of seconds at the coordinates above. Altitudes are geometric — unrefracted, on the WGS 84 ellipsoid.
NEXT FROM AMUNDSEN-SCOTT
What else is coming here?
The rest of what the sky over Amundsen-Scott has coming, soonest first.