From the March 2012 issue

Find the solar eclipse in your May sky

While some of the world will experience a ring of annularity May 20/21, many more can witness the Moon take a partial bite out of the Sun’s disk that day.
By | Published: March 26, 2012 | Last updated on May 18, 2023
0512_path-of-annularity
The path of annualarity cuts a narrow swath stretching from China to the southwestern United States, but a much broader area will experience a partial eclipse. Astronomy: Roen Kelly
The United States will be the center of the astronomical universe May 20. On that Sunday afternoon, the Moon will pass directly in front of the Sun for those located within a narrow path that runs from the Pacific coast near the California-Oregon border to West Texas. Observers along this track will see the Moon cover approximately 94 percent of the Sun, reducing our star to a ring of sunlight. Viewers in parts of China and Japan (where it will be the morning of May 21) will also witness this annular solar eclipse. And people with clear skies anywhere within a couple of thousand miles of this path will see a partial solar eclipse. The table below gives you the times and extent of this eclipse from more than 80 cities and locations around the globe.
 Location      Start
Time 
h:m   
Maximum
Eclipse
h:m
End
Time

h:m  
Sun’s
Altitude
°
  
 Umbral
Magnitude

Annular
Duration
Canada        
Calgary, Alberta      00:04 01:14 02:18 19 0.706
Edmonton, Alberta 00:01 01:10 02:13 19 0.657
Hamilton, Ontario 00:20 00:41 s 0 0.297
Montreal, Quebec 00:17 00:23 s 0 0.029
North York, Ontario 00:19 00:40 s 0 0.300
Ottawa, Ontario 00:17 00:31 s 0 0.192
Ville de Quebec, Quebec      00:15 00:18 s 0 0.037
Regina, Saskatchewan 00:10 01:15 02:15 12 0.655
Toronto, Ontario 00:19 00:40 s 0 0.292
Vancouver, B.C. 23:59 01:15 02:23 24 0.800
Victoria, B.C. 00:01 01:16 02:25 24 0.819
Winnipeg, Manitoba 00:13 01:14 02:11 8 0.615
China
Beijing 21:31 22:33 23:42 17 0.670
Chengdu r 22:22 23:24 3 0.736
Chongqing r 22:20 23:24 4 0.776
Guangzhou r 22:10 23:17 5 0.932 4m26s
Nanjing 21:17 22:21 23:32 15 0.831
Shanghai 21:15 22:20 23:33 16 0.872
Xi’an r 22:25 23:30 8 0.707
Hong Kong
Victoria r 22:08 23:16 5 0.932 3m26s
Japan
Osaka 21:17 22:30 23:54 31 0.938 2m54s
Tokyo 21:19 22:35 00:03 35 0.939 5m04s
Yokohama 21:19 22:34 00:02 35 0.939 5m03s
Mexico
Guadalajara 00:48 01:24 s 0 0.485
Mexico City 00:48 01:05 s 0 0.243
Monterrey 00:41 01:21 s 0 0.589
Taiwan
Taipei r 22:11 23:24 13 0.934 1m50s
United States
Albuquerque, New Mexico 00:28 01:36 s 5 0.933 4m26s
Austin, Texas 00:35 01:20 s 0 0.683
Birmingham, Alabama 00:30 00:43 s 0 0.212
Boise, Idaho 00:12 01:25 02:31 17 0.864
Bryce Canyon, Utah 00:23 01:34 s 11 0.957 4m19s
Buffalo, New York 00:20 00:35 s 0 0.227
Canyon de Chelly, Arizona 00:26 01:35 s 8 0.965 4m29s
Chicago, Illinois 00:22 01:08 s 8 0.615
Cincinnati, Ohio 00:24 00:47 s 8 0.348
Dallas, Texas 00:32 01:21 s 0 0.751
Denver, Colorado 00:23 01:30 s 7 0.855
Des Moines, Iowa      00:23 01:24 s 1 0.734
Detroit, Michigan 00:21 00:51 s 0 0.419
El Paso, Texas 00:33 01:40 s 3 0.896
Eureka, California 00:10 01:28 02:37 21 0.937 3m59s
Flagstaff, Arizona 00:27 01:37 s 9 0.929
Flint, Michigan 00:21 00:55 s 0 0.478
Grand Canyon, Arizona 00:25 01:36 s 10 0.944 3m16s
Honolulu, Hawaii 00:03 01:12 02:11 52 0.181
Houston, Texas 00:35 01:09 s 0 0.523
Indianapolis, Indiana 00:24 00:56 s 0 0.468
Jackson, Mississippi 00:31 00:54 s 0 0.348
Kansas City, Missouri 00:25 01:27 s 0 0.788
Lincoln, Nebraska 00:23 01:26 s 2 0.771
Little Rock, Arkansas 00:29 01:08 s 0 0.583
Los Angeles, California 00:25 01:38 02:43 13 0.848
Louisville, Kentucky 00:25 00:50 s 0 0.377
Lubbock, Texas 00:31 01:36 s 1 0.931 4m13s
Madision, Wisconsin 00:21 01:18 s 0 0.676
Medford, Oregon 00:08 01:26 02:34 21 0.936 2m46s
Memphis, Tennessee 00:29 01:00 s 0 0.474
Milwaukee, Wisconsin 00:21 01:12 s 0 0.644
Minneapolis, Minnesota 00:19 01:20 s 3 0.671
Nashville, Tennessee 00:27 00:49 s 0 0.336
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 00:29 01:30 s 0 0.877
Omaha, Nebraska 00:23 01:25 s 2 0.757
Phoenix, Arizona 00:29 01:39 s 8 0.887
Portland, Oregon 00:04 01:21 02:29 22 0.873
Reno, Nevada 00:15 01:31 02:37 17 0.936 4m26s
Riverside, California 00:26 01:38 02:42 13 0.853
Sacramento, California 00:15 01:32 02:39 18 0.923
St. Louis, Missouri 00:25 01:09 s 0 0.630
St. Paul, Minnesota 00:19 01:20 s 3 0.670
Salem, Oregon 00:05 01:22 02:30 22 0.888
Salt Lake City, Utah 00:19 01:29 02:33 12 0.889
San Antonio, Texas 00:36 01:21 s 0 0.681
San Diego, California 00:28 01:40 s 12 0.826
San Francisco, California 00:16 01:33 02:40 19 0.897
San Jose, California 00:17 01:33 02:40 18 0.892
Santa Fe, New Mexico 00:28 01:35 s 5 0.932 3m33s
Seattle, Washington 00:02 01:18 02:26 23 0.828
Springfield, Illinois 00:24 01:10 s 0 0.643
Toledo, Ohio 00:22 00:51 s 0 0.414
Topeka, Kansas 00:25 01:28 s 1 0.797
Tulsa, Oklahoma 00:28 01:26 s 0 0.831
VLA, New Mexico 00:29 01:37 s 5 0.938 2m25s
Zion Canyon, Utah 00:23 01:34 s 11 0.962 4m30s
All times are Universal Time
r indicates eclipse is in progress at sunrise
s indicates eclipse is in progress at sunset