This is a Web implementation of the NASA Eclipse Bulletin for the 2002 December 4 total solar eclipse. The hardcopy NASA Technical Publications are at best in short supply, and in any case the Web is probably the best medium for the dissemination of this information, especially for those people with network access who do not really need hardcopies of every page (though you can use your Web viewer to make hardcopies as needed).
Total Solar Eclipse of 2002 December 4 (NASA/TP-2001-209990) contains detailed predictions for this event and include besselian elements, geographic coordinates of the path of totality, physical ephemeris of the umbra, topocentric limb profile corrections, local circumstances for 308 cities, maps of the eclipse path, weather prospects, the lunar limb profile and the sky during totality. Information on safe eclipse viewing and eclipse photography is included.
This is a Web implementation of the NASA 2002 Eclipse Bulletin. The following index allows you to navigate to any part of this document.
NASA Eclipse Bulletins contain detailed predictions, maps and meteorology for future central solar eclipses of interest. These publications are prepared in cooperation with the Working Group on Eclipses of the International Astronomical Union and are provided as a public service to both the professional and lay communities, including educators and the media. In order to allow a reasonable lead time for planning purposes, subsequent bulletins will be published 18 to 24 months before each event.
The document "Total Solar Eclipse of 2002 December 4" (NASA/TP-2001-209990) was written by Fred Espenak (NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland, USA) and Jay Anderson (Royal Astronomical Society of Canada, Winnipeg, Manitoba, CANADA). Hard copies of this publication may be ordered using the Bulletin Request Form. Note that you must include a SASE (self-addressed, stamped envelope) with postage for 12 ounces (340 grams) with your request. Do not send cash or checks!
The complete 2002 eclipse publication is also available in electronic format as a Portable Document Format (PDF) file:
The PDF file requires Adobe Reader in order to be read. This software is available free of charge at the above link for a number of different computer platforms (Window, Macintosh, UNIX).
Permission is freely granted to reproduce any portion of this NASA publication. All uses and/or publication of this material should be accompanied by an appropriate acknowledgment of the source (e.g.- Eclipse maps and data courtesy of Fred Espenak and Jay Anderson, "Total Solar Eclipse of 2002 December 4" (NASA/TP-2001-209990) ).
Comments, suggestions and corrections are solicited to improve the content and layout in subsequent editions of this publication series.
Fred Espenak Jay Anderson
NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center Royal Astronomical Society of Canada
Planteary Systems Laboratory, Code 693 189 Kingsway Ave.
Greenbelt, MD 20771 Winnipeg, MB,
USA CANADA R3M 0G4
Email: fred.espenak@nasa.gov Email: jander@cc.umanitoba.ca
For more information, see the NASA Eclipse Web Site for the Total Solar Eclipse of 2002 December 4.
