# Solar eclipse of March 9, 2016

A total solar eclipse occurred at the Moon's descending node of orbit between Tuesday, March 8 and Wednesday, March 9, 2016, with a magnitude of 1.045. A total solar eclipse occurs when the Moon's apparent diameter is larger than the Sun's and the apparent path of the Sun and Moon intersect, blocking all direct sunlight and turning daylight into darkness; the Sun appears to be black with a halo around it. 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 1.25 days before perigee (on March 10, 2016, at 7:00 UTC), the Moon's apparent diameter was larger.
Totality was visible from parts of Indonesia, Micronesia, and the Marshall Islands. A partial eclipse was visible for parts of Southeast Asia, East Asia, Alaska, northwestern Australia, and Hawaii. If viewed from east of the International Date Line (for instance from Hawaii), the eclipse took place on March 8 (Tuesday) (local time) and elsewhere on March 9 (Wednesday).
The eclipse was clearly visible in many parts of Indonesia, including Central Sulawesi and Ternate, but obscured by clouds and smokes in Palembang, the largest city on the path of totality. The eclipse coincided with Nyepi, a public holiday in Indonesia and the end of the Balinese saka calendar. Because Nyepi is normally a day of silence, Muslims in Bali had to be given special dispensation to attend special prayer services during the eclipse.

## Path of the eclipse

On March 9, 2016, a large area of the Pacific, covering Indonesia, Borneo, but also large parts of Southeast Asia and Australia, witnessed a partial solar eclipse. It was total in multiple islands of Indonesia, three atolls of the Federated States of Micronesia (Eauripik, Woleai and Ifalik) and the central Pacific, starting at sunrise over Sumatra and ending at sunset north of Hawaii. In the Eastern Pacific Ocean, the totality exceeded a duration of more than 4 minutes. ed, and much of East Asia witnessed more than 50% partial eclipse.
The largest city along the path of totality was Palembang in southern Sumatra (423 km (263 mi) from Jakarta and 478 km (297 mi) from Singapore).
In order to watch the total solar eclipse, Alaska Airlines adjusted the flight plan for Flight 870. The flight passed through the umbral shadow about 695 miles (1,118 km) north of Hawaii.

## Maps

| | Animation assembled from 13 images acquired by NASA's Earth Polychromatic Imaging Camera atop the DSCOVR satellite. |
| Path of the eclipse in Southeast Asia ||
| Path of the eclipse in Indonesia ||

## Gallery

* Partial in Jakarta, Indonesia, 0:23 UTC
* Partial in Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, 0:23 UTC
* Partial in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, 0:26 UTC
* Partial in Marina Bay, Singapore, 0:26 UTC
* Partial in Dompu, Indonesia, 0:38 UTC
* Diamond ring effect in Tanjung Pandan, Indonesia. 0:42 UTC
* Partial in Khon Kaen University, Thailand, 0:46 UTC
* Partial in Nonthaburi, Thailand, 0:52 UTC
* Partial in Jerudong, Brunei, 1:01 UTC
* Partial in Langkawi, Malaysia, 1:16 UTC
* Partial in Hefei, China, 1:40 UTC

## 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 9, 2016 Solar Eclipse Times :
| Event | Time (UTC) |
| First Penumbral External Contact | 2016 March 08 at 23:20:28.3 UTC |
| First Umbral External Contact | 2016 March 09 at 00:17:05.3 UTC |
| First Central Line | 2016 March 09 at 00:17:51.5 UTC |
| First Umbral Internal Contact | 2016 March 09 at 00:18:37.8 UTC |
| First Penumbral Internal Contact | 2016 March 09 at 01:18:48.1 UTC |
| Ecliptic Conjunction | 2016 March 09 at 01:55:37.5 UTC |
| Greatest Duration | 2016 March 09 at 01:57:59.8 UTC |
| Greatest Eclipse | 2016 March 09 at 01:58:19.5 UTC |
| Equatorial Conjunction | 2016 March 09 at 02:06:49.1 UTC |
| Last Penumbral Internal Contact | 2016 March 09 at 08:37:36.7 UTC |
| Last Umbral Internal Contact | 2016 March 09 at 03:37:53.0 UTC |
| Last Central Line | 2016 March 09 at 03:38:40.8 UTC |
| Last Umbral External Contact | 2016 March 09 at 03:39:28.6 UTC |
| Last Penumbral External Contact | 2016 March 09 at 04:36:03.3 UTC |
March 9, 2016 Solar Eclipse Parameters :
| Parameter | Value |
| Eclipse Magnitude | 1.04499 |
| Eclipse Obscuration | 1.09200 |
| Gamma | 0.26092 |
| Sun Right Ascension | 23h19m17.6s |
| Sun Declination | -04°22'46.4" |
| Sun Semi-Diameter | 16'06.5" |
| Sun Equatorial Horizontal Parallax | 08.9" |
| Moon Right Ascension | 23h18m58.7s |
| Moon Declination | -04°07'40.6" |
| Moon Semi-Diameter | 16'33.5" |
| Moon Equatorial Horizontal Parallax | 1°00'46.2" |
| ΔT | 68.1 s |

## 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 2016 :
| March 9 Descending node (new moon) | March 23 Ascending node (full moon) |
| Total solar eclipse Solar Saros 130 | Penumbral lunar eclipse Lunar Saros 142 |

## Related eclipses
### Eclipses in 2016

* A total solar eclipse on March 9.
* A penumbral lunar eclipse on March 23.
* A penumbral lunar eclipse on August 18.
* An annular solar eclipse on September 1.
* A penumbral lunar eclipse on September 16.

### Metonic

* Preceded by: Solar eclipse of May 20, 2012
* Followed by: Solar eclipse of December 26, 2019

### Tzolkinex

* Preceded by: Solar eclipse of January 26, 2009
* Followed by: Solar eclipse of April 20, 2023

### Half-Saros

* Preceded by: Lunar eclipse of March 3, 2007
* Followed by: Lunar eclipse of March 14, 2025

### Tritos

* Preceded by: Solar eclipse of April 8, 2005
* Followed by: Solar eclipse of February 6, 2027

### Solar Saros 130

* Preceded by: Solar eclipse of February 26, 1998
* Followed by: Solar eclipse of March 20, 2034

### Inex

* Preceded by: Solar eclipse of March 29, 1987
* Followed by: Solar eclipse of February 16, 2045

### Triad

* Preceded by: Solar eclipse of May 9, 1929
* Followed by: Solar eclipse of January 8, 2103

### Solar eclipses of 2015–18

This eclipse is a member of a semester series. An eclipse in a semester series of solar eclipses repeats approximately every 177 days and 4 hours (a semester) at alternating nodes of the Moon's orbit.
The partial solar eclipse on July 13, 2018 occurs in the next lunar year eclipse set.
Solar eclipse series sets from 2015 to 2018 :
| Descending node | Descending node | Descending node | Ascending node | Ascending node | Ascending node |
| Saros | Map | Gamma | Saros | Map | Gamma |
| 120 Totality in Longyearbyen, Svalbard | March 20, 2015 Total | 0.94536 | 125 Solar Dynamics Observatory | September 13, 2015 Partial | −1.10039 |
| 130 Balikpapan, Indonesia | March 9, 2016 Total | 0.26092 | 135 Annularity in L'Étang-Salé, Réunion | September 1, 2016 Annular | −0.33301 |
| 140 Partial from Buenos Aires, Argentina | February 26, 2017 Annular | −0.45780 | 145 Totality in Madras, OR, USA | August 21, 2017 Total | 0.43671 |
| 150 Partial in Olivos, Buenos Aires, Argentina | February 15, 2018 Partial | −1.21163 | 155 Partial in Huittinen, Finland | August 11, 2018 Partial | 1.14758 |

### Saros 130

This eclipse is a part of Saros series 130, repeating every 18 years, 11 days, and containing 73 events. The series started with a partial solar eclipse on August 20, 1096. It contains total eclipses from April 5, 1475 through July 18, 2232. There are no annular or hybrid eclipses in this set. The series ends at member 73 as a partial eclipse on October 25, 2394. Its eclipses are tabulated in three columns; every third eclipse in the same column is one exeligmos apart, so they all cast shadows over approximately the same parts of the Earth.
The longest duration of totality was produced by member 30 at 6 minutes, 41 seconds on July 11, 1619. All eclipses in this series occur at the Moon’s descending node of orbit.
Series members 41–62 occur between 1801 and 2200: :
| 41 | 42 | 43 |
| November 9, 1817 | November 20, 1835 | November 30, 1853 |
| 44 | 45 | 46 |
| December 12, 1871 | December 22, 1889 | January 3, 1908 |
| 47 | 48 | 49 |
| January 14, 1926 | January 25, 1944 | February 5, 1962 |
| 50 | 51 | 52 |
| February 16, 1980 | February 26, 1998 | March 9, 2016 |
| 53 | 54 | 55 |
| March 20, 2034 | March 30, 2052 | April 11, 2070 |
| 56 | 57 | 58 |
| April 21, 2088 | May 3, 2106 | May 14, 2124 |
| 59 | 60 | 61 |
| May 25, 2142 | June 4, 2160 | June 16, 2178 |
| 62 |
| June 26, 2196 |

### Metonic series

The metonic series repeats eclipses every 19 years (6939.69 days), lasting about 5 cycles. Eclipses occur in nearly the same calendar date. In addition, the octon subseries repeats 1/5 of that or every 3.8 years (1387.94 days). All eclipses in this table occur at the Moon's descending node.
21 eclipse events between May 21, 1993 and May 20, 2069 :
| May 20–21 | March 9 | December 25–26 | October 13–14 | August 1–2 |
| 118 | 120 | 122 | 124 | 126 |
| May 21, 1993 | March 9, 1997 | December 25, 2000 | October 14, 2004 | August 1, 2008 |
| 128 | 130 | 132 | 134 | 136 |
| May 20, 2012 | March 9, 2016 | December 26, 2019 | October 14, 2023 | August 2, 2027 |
| 138 | 140 | 142 | 144 | 146 |
| May 21, 2031 | March 9, 2035 | December 26, 2038 | October 14, 2042 | August 2, 2046 |
| 148 | 150 | 152 | 154 | 156 |
| May 20, 2050 | March 9, 2054 | December 26, 2057 | October 13, 2061 | August 2, 2065 |
| 158 |
| May 20, 2069 |

### Tritos series

This eclipse is a part of a tritos cycle, repeating at alternating nodes every 135 synodic months (≈ 3986.63 days, or 11 years minus 1 month). Their appearance and longitude are irregular due to a lack of synchronization with the anomalistic month (period of perigee), but groupings of 3 tritos cycles (≈ 33 years minus 3 months) come close (≈ 434.044 anomalistic months), so eclipses are similar in these groupings.
Series members between 1801 and 2200 :
| October 19, 1808 (Saros 111) | September 19, 1819 (Saros 112) | August 18, 1830 (Saros 113) | July 18, 1841 (Saros 114) | June 17, 1852 (Saros 115) |
| May 17, 1863 (Saros 116) | April 16, 1874 (Saros 117) | March 16, 1885 (Saros 118) | February 13, 1896 (Saros 119) | January 14, 1907 (Saros 120) |
| December 14, 1917 (Saros 121) | November 12, 1928 (Saros 122) | October 12, 1939 (Saros 123) | September 12, 1950 (Saros 124) | August 11, 1961 (Saros 125) |
| July 10, 1972 (Saros 126) | June 11, 1983 (Saros 127) | May 10, 1994 (Saros 128) | April 8, 2005 (Saros 129) | March 9, 2016 (Saros 130) |
| February 6, 2027 (Saros 131) | January 5, 2038 (Saros 132) | December 5, 2048 (Saros 133) | November 5, 2059 (Saros 134) | October 4, 2070 (Saros 135) |
| September 3, 2081 (Saros 136) | August 3, 2092 (Saros 137) | July 4, 2103 (Saros 138) | June 3, 2114 (Saros 139) | May 3, 2125 (Saros 140) |
| April 1, 2136 (Saros 141) | March 2, 2147 (Saros 142) | January 30, 2158 (Saros 143) | December 29, 2168 (Saros 144) | November 28, 2179 (Saros 145) |
| October 29, 2190 (Saros 146) |

### Inex series

This eclipse is a part of the long period inex cycle, repeating at alternating nodes, every 358 synodic months (≈ 10,571.95 days, or 29 years minus 20 days). Their appearance and longitude are irregular due to a lack of synchronization with the anomalistic month (period of perigee). However, groupings of 3 inex cycles (≈ 87 years minus 2 months) comes close (≈ 1,151.02 anomalistic months), so eclipses are similar in these groupings.
Series members between 1801 and 2200 :
| July 27, 1813 (Saros 123) | July 8, 1842 (Saros 124) | June 18, 1871 (Saros 125) |
| May 28, 1900 (Saros 126) | May 9, 1929 (Saros 127) | April 19, 1958 (Saros 128) |
| March 29, 1987 (Saros 129) | March 9, 2016 (Saros 130) | February 16, 2045 (Saros 131) |
| January 27, 2074 (Saros 132) | January 8, 2103 (Saros 133) | December 19, 2131 (Saros 134) |
| November 27, 2160 (Saros 135) | November 8, 2189 (Saros 136) | |