A total solar eclipse will occur at the Moon's descending node of orbit on Monday, March 20, 2034, with a magnitude of 1.0458. A solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes between Earth and the Sun, thereby totally or partly obscuring the image of the Sun for a viewer on Earth. A total solar eclipse occurs when the Moon's apparent diameter is larger than the Sun's, blocking all direct sunlight, turning day into darkness. Totality occurs in a narrow path across Earth's surface, with the partial solar eclipse visible over a surrounding region thousands of kilometres wide. Occurring about 1.3 days before perigee (on March 21, 2034, at 18:15 UTC), the Moon's apparent diameter will be larger.
Totality will be visible from the extreme southern tip of Benin, Nigeria, northern Cameroon, Chad, Sudan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, northern India, and western China. A partial eclipse will be visible for parts of eastern Brazil, Africa, Europe, the Middle East, Central Asia, and South Asia. Coincidentally, the eclipse passes through many Islamic countries around the date of Islamic New Year (estimated around March 20–21 according to local traditions, time zone and atmospheric conditions), and also passes through Iran only a few hours before the vernal equinox, marking the beginning of the Persian New Year. Since the Islamic lunar year is 11–12 days shorter than the solar year that the Iranian calendar observes, the Islamic New Year rotates through the seasons of the year, while the Persian one is on nearly fixed date on Gregorian calendar. In addition, the March 2034 solar eclipse is expected to be the longest total solar eclipse since 1894.
Images Animated path
Eclipse timing Places experiencing total eclipse Solar Eclipse of March 20, 2034(Local Times)Country or territory City or placeStart of partial eclipseStart of total eclipseMaximum eclipseEnd of total eclipseEnd of partial eclipseDuration of totality (min:s)Duration of eclipse (hr:min)Maximum magnitude Lagos 09:02:20 10:18:37 10:20:00 10:21:22 11:48:04 2:45 2:46 1.0088 Benin City 09:04:55 10:23:17 10:24:15 10:25:12 11:53:41 1:55 2:49 1.0036 Akure 09:05:30 10:23:16 10:24:41 10:26:07 11:54:00 2:51 2:49 1.009 Lokoja 09:08:10 10:26:56 10:28:36 10:30:18 11:58:51 3:22 2:51 1.0137 Makurdi 09:10:32 10:31:05 10:32:16 10:33:27 12:03:24 2:22 2:53 1.0053 Lafia 09:11:32 10:31:34 10:33:24 10:35:14 12:04:35 3:40 2:53 1.0181 Gombe 09:17:59 10:40:38 10:42:00 10:43:22 12:14:17 2:44 2:56 1.0068 Maroua 09:23:39 10:49:35 10:49:50 10:50:05 12:23:00 0:30 2:59 1.0004 N'Djamena 09:27:11 10:52:04 10:53:58 10:55:54 12:27:08 3:50 3:00 1.0159 Hafar Al-Batin 12:58:55 14:21:46 14:22:48 14:23:50 15:38:54 2:04 2:40 1.005 Bushehr 13:39:25 14:59:51 15:00:42 15:01:32 16:13:48 1:41 2:34 1.0036 Shiraz 13:43:13 15:02:02 15:03:18 15:04:34 16:15:14 2:32 2:32 1.0097 Farah 15:00:50 16:13:23 16:14:36 16:15:49 17:20:49 2:26 2:20 1.0134 Ghazni 15:09:38 16:18:43 16:19:39 16:20:36 17:22:43 1:53 2:13 1.008 Khost 15:11:32 16:19:41 16:20:48 16:21:55 17:23:12 2:14 2:12 1.0152 Peshawar 15:43:20 16:50:48 16:51:37 16:52:25 17:53:15 1:37 2:10 1.0058 Charsadda 15:43:31 16:51:13 16:51:40 16:52:08 17:53:12 0:55 2:10 1.0019 Attock 15:44:17 16:51:07 16:52:12 16:53:17 17:53:30 2:10 2:09 1.016 Mansehra 15:45:04 16:52:09 16:52:27 16:52:44 17:53:21 0:35 2:08 1.001 Havelian 15:45:05 16:51:35 16:52:33 16:53:30 17:53:29 1:55 2:08 1.0096 Muzaffarabad 15:45:21 16:52:18 16:52:35 16:52:52 17:53:23 0:34 2:08 1.001 Islamabad 15:45:04 16:51:34 16:52:38 16:53:42 17:53:38 2:08 2:09 1.0149 Rawalpindi 15:45:05 16:51:39 16:52:40 16:53:40 17:53:41 2:01 2:09 1.0116 Ausia 15:45:26 16:51:43 16:52:45 16:53:46 17:53:33 2:03 2:08 1.0125 Baramulla 16:16:18 17:22:13 17:23:08 17:24:01 18:23:34 1:48 2:07 1.0084 Sopore 16:16:24 17:22:21 17:23:09 17:23:57 18:23:32 1:36 2:07 1.0064 Srinagar 16:16:49 17:22:24 17:23:26 17:24:27 18:23:41 2:03 2:07 1.014 Shopian 16:16:56 17:22:40 17:23:35 17:24:30 18:23:51 1:50 2:07 1.0091 Anantnag 16:17:15 17:22:50 17:23:44 17:24:38 18:23:52 1:48 2:07 1.0087 Leh 16:19:26 17:23:41 17:24:41 17:25:40 18:23:48 1:59 2:04 1.0153References:
Places experiencing partial eclipse Solar Eclipse of March 20, 2034(Local Times)Country or territory City or placeStart of partial eclipseMaximum eclipseEnd of partial eclipseDuration of eclipse (hr:min)Maximum coverage Fortaleza 05:38:11 (sunrise) 05:40:20 06:35:04 0:57 88.56% Monrovia 07:51:02 08:58:09 10:15:02 2:24 85.75% Yamoussoukro 07:54:56 09:06:02 10:27:31 2:33 89.49% Abidjan 07:54:04 09:06:04 10:28:36 2:35 96.30% Accra 07:57:35 09:12:26 10:37:56 2:40 99.71% Lomé 07:59:40 09:15:40 10:42:16 2:43 99.62% São Tomé 08:00:56 09:18:20 10:45:31 2:45 77.86% Porto-Novo 09:01:34 10:18:41 11:46:17 2:45 99.98% Malabo 09:06:29 10:27:00 11:57:03 2:51 87.07% Abuja 09:10:53 10:32:03 12:02:42 2:52 99.16% Yaoundé 09:10:52 10:33:00 12:03:53 2:53 82.66% Garoua 09:20:13 10:45:34 12:18:31 2:58 98.16% Abéché 09:41:01 11:10:57 12:43:57 3:03 98.79% Khartoum 11:11:44 12:43:05 14:10:40 2:59 81.03% Cairo 11:31:07 12:55:48 14:16:45 2:46 73.28% Baghdad 13:00:46 14:21:39 15:35:55 2:35 81.20% Riyadh 12:57:34 14:22:25 15:38:56 2:41 90.20% Kuwait City 13:03:54 14:26:23 15:41:00 2:37 99.84% Manama 13:07:24 14:29:36 15:43:18 2:36 91.27% Doha 13:09:05 14:30:48 15:43:52 2:35 86.40% Tehran 13:45:08 15:01:52 16:11:47 2:27 80.26% Dubai 14:17:22 15:36:25 16:46:51 2:29 81.99% Ashgabat 15:26:58 16:39:22 17:45:17 2:18 77.97% Tashkent 15:40:38 16:46:28 17:46:48 2:06 71.91% Dushanbe 15:39:55 16:47:43 17:49:25 2:10 82.19% Kabul 15:10:28 16:19:50 17:22:26 2:12 98.17% Lahore 15:47:04 16:54:08 17:54:33 2:07 93.62% New Delhi 16:21:30 17:26:32 18:24:58 2:03 80.38% Lhasa 19:01:08 19:59:23 20:06:40 (sunset) 1:06 82.05% Kathmandu 16:44:07 17:44:35 18:14:51 (sunset) 1:31 74.64%References:
Eclipse details Shown below are two tables displaying details about this particular solar eclipse. The first table outlines times at which the Moon's penumbra or umbra attains the specific parameter, and the second table describes various other parameters pertaining to this eclipse.
+March 20, 2034 Solar Eclipse Times Event Time (UTC) First Penumbral External Contact 2034 March 20 at 07:41:11.9 UTC First Umbral External Contact 2034 March 20 at 08:38:09.7 UTC First Central Line 2034 March 20 at 08:38:58.0 UTC First Umbral Internal Contact 2034 March 20 at 08:39:46.4 UTC First Penumbral Internal Contact 2034 March 20 at 09:41:21.7 UTC Ecliptic Conjunction 2034 March 20 at 10:15:45.2 UTC Greatest Eclipse 2034 March 20 at 10:18:45.2 UTC Greatest Duration 2034 March 20 at 10:19:41.8 UTC Equatorial Conjunction 2034 March 20 at 10:28:24.9 UTC Last Penumbral Internal Contact 2034 March 20 at 10:55:53.9 UTC Last Umbral Internal Contact 2034 March 20 at 11:57:34.8 UTC Last Central Line 2034 March 20 at 11:58:24.9 UTC Last Umbral External Contact 2034 March 20 at 11:59:14.9 UTC Last Penumbral External Contact 2034 March 20 at 12:56:10.5 UTC
+March 20, 2034 Solar Eclipse Parameters Parameter Value Eclipse Magnitude 1.04582 Eclipse Obscuration 1.09374 Gamma 0.28942 Sun Right Ascension 23h59m32.7s Sun Declination -00°02'58.0" Sun Semi-Diameter 16'03.7" Sun Equatorial Horizontal Parallax 08.8" Moon Right Ascension 23h59m11.3s Moon Declination +00°13'42.6" Moon Semi-Diameter 16'31.6" Moon Equatorial Horizontal Parallax 1°00'39.3" ΔT 75.7 s
Characteristics Eclipse path intersections The path of the March 30, 2034 eclipse will cross the path of another solar eclipse less than 7 years earlier, the August 2027 solar eclipse, at a location on the southeastern coast of Egypt. This is similar to the intersection in the paths of the August 2017 and April 2024 total solar eclipses in the United States, over southern Illinois, and in Turkey during the August 1999 and March 2006 solar eclipses; the intersections within these pairs of total eclipses also occurred about 7 years apart. This phenomenon is considered to be unusual, since the average interval for any given spot on Earth to observe a total solar eclipse is about once every 375 years. The intersection patterns are caused by the dynamics of the Saros cycle.
Eclipse season
This eclipse is part of an eclipse season, a period, roughly every six months, when eclipses occur. Only two (or occasionally three) eclipse seasons occur each year, and each season lasts about 35 days and repeats just short of six months (173 days) later; thus two full eclipse seasons always occur each year. Either two or three eclipses happen each eclipse season. In the sequence below, each eclipse is separated by a fortnight.
+ Eclipse season of March–April 2034 March 20Descending node (new moon) April 3Ascending node (full moon) Total solar eclipseSolar Saros 130 Penumbral lunar eclipseLunar Saros 142
Related eclipses Eclipses in 2034 A total solar eclipse on March 20. A penumbral lunar eclipse on April 3. An annular solar eclipse on September 12. A partial lunar eclipse on September 28.
Metonic Preceded by: Solar eclipse of June 1, 2030 Followed by: Solar eclipse of January 5, 2038
Tzolkinex Preceded by: Solar eclipse of February 6, 2027 Followed by: Solar eclipse of April 30, 2041
Half-Saros Preceded by: Lunar eclipse of March 14, 2025 Followed by: Lunar eclipse of March 25, 2043
Tritos Preceded by: Solar eclipse of April 20, 2023 Followed by: Solar eclipse of February 16, 2045
Solar Saros 130 Preceded by: Solar eclipse of March 9, 2016 Followed by: Solar eclipse of March 30, 2052
Inex Preceded by: Solar eclipse of April 8, 2005 Followed by: Solar eclipse of February 28, 2063
Triad Preceded by: Solar eclipse of May 20, 1947 Followed by: Solar eclipse of January 19, 2121
Solar eclipses of 2033–2036
Saros 130
Metonic series
Tritos series
Inex series
References
External links NASA graphics