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August 1, 2008 Total Solar Eclipse

The total solar eclipse on August 1, 2008 begins in Canada and extends across northern Greenland, the Arctic region, central Russia, Mongolia, and China. A partial eclipse is seen within the broader path of the moon's penumbra (partially shaded outer region), which includes northeastern North America, most of Europe, the Middle East and western parts of Asia.

This eclipse wasn't visible in Washington DC - Which upcoming eclipses can be seen in your location?

What the Eclipse Looked Like Near the Maximum Point

The animation shows what the eclipse approximately looked like near the maximum point. The curvature of the Moon's path is due to the Earth's rotation.

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Where the Eclipse Was Seen

Try our new interactive eclipse maps. Zoom in and search for accurate eclipse times and visualizations for any location.


Path of the Eclipse Shadow

Regions that saw, at least, a partial eclipse: Europe, Asia, Much of North America, Atlantic, Indian Ocean, Arctic.

The eclipse's path

The path of this eclipse begins in the Northwest Territories in Canada and finishes in north-central China. Though the central shadow narrowly misses Cambridge Bay on Victoria Island and Resolute on Cornwallis Island, its edge just nips the town of Alert on Ellesmere Island, giving residents 40 seconds of early morning totality.

Across the Atlantic north, the eclipse’s path skips across Greenland’s northernmost coast and comes within about 720 kilometers (450 miles) of the North Pole before heading southward toward more moderate climes. Totality of the eclipse passes by Svalbard in Norway and touches Russia’s Franz Josef Land island group before cutting across Novaya Zemlya on its way to mainland Asia.

The umbra first touches the Russian coast of the Yamal Peninsula. The solar eclipse occurs closer to the inland, producing about two minutes and 27 seconds of totality and reaches near the town of Nadym, inland from the boot shaped Gulf of Obskaja. Continuing to hook towards the southeast, the central path passes near Novosibirsk where totality lasts about two minutes and 18 seconds. The path then enters western Mongolia, with the towns of Olgij and Bulgan seeing about two minutes of a total eclipse. A total eclipse then occurs in north-central China before the umbra leaves Earth just north of the cities of Lanzhou and Xian. A partial eclipse will be seen throughout northeastern North America, most of Europe, the Middle East and western parts of Asia.

Expand for a list of selected cities where at least part of the total eclipse was visible
Expand for a list of selected cities where the partial eclipse was visible

This eclipse wasn't visible in Washington DC - Which upcoming eclipses can be seen in your location?

Eclipse Shadow Path

Portion of Sun covered by the Moon (Eclipse obscuration)

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The dark areas symbolize night and twilight.

When the Eclipse Happened Worldwide — Timeline

The eclipse started at one location and ended at another. The times below are actual times (in UTC) when the eclipse occurred. This calculation uses a Delta T value of 65.6 seconds.

Eclipse Stages WorldwideUTC TimeLocal Time in Washington DC*
First location to see the partial eclipse beginAug 1 at 08:04:07Aug 1 at 4:04:07 am
First location to see the full eclipse beginAug 1 at 09:21:07Aug 1 at 5:21:07 am
Maximum EclipseAug 1 at 10:21:15Aug 1 at 6:21:15 am
Last location to see the full eclipse endAug 1 at 11:21:26Aug 1 at 7:21:26 am
Last location to see the partial eclipse endAug 1 at 12:38:25Aug 1 at 8:38:25 am

* These local times do not refer to a specific location but indicate the beginning, peak, and end of the eclipse on a global scale, each line referring to a different location. This eclipse isn't visible in Washington DC.

Upcoming eclipses visible in Washington DC

Next Total Solar Eclipse will be on Jul 21 – Jul 22, 2009

Eclipse calculations usually accurate to a few seconds

Countries Where the Eclipse Is Visible

CountryTypeStartEndTotality Duration
Canada
Total Solar Eclipse
5:34 am NDT6:30 am EDT11m, 49s
China
Total Solar Eclipse
3:54 pm ALMT8:27 pm CST24m, 51s
Greenland
Total Solar Eclipse
6:07 am WGST8:35 am WGST10m, 47s
Kazakhstan
Total Solar Eclipse
2:21 pm ORAT6:07 pm ALMT3m, 25s
Mongolia
Total Solar Eclipse
5:54 pm KRAST7:04 pm HOVT14m, 53s
Russia
Total Solar Eclipse
11:43 am EEST6:55 pm OMSST1h, 11m, 28s
Svalbard and Jan Mayen
Total Solar Eclipse
------1m, 31s
Afghanistan
Partial Solar Eclipse
3:06 pm TMT4:50 pm AFT---
Albania
Partial Solar Eclipse
11:26 am CEST12:27 pm CEST---
Armenia
Partial Solar Eclipse
2:42 pm AMST4:16 pm IRDT---
Austria
Partial Solar Eclipse
10:53 am CEST12:34 pm CEST---
Azerbaijan
Partial Solar Eclipse
2:41 pm AZST4:51 pm AZST---
Bahrain
Partial Solar Eclipse
1:39 pm AST3:01 pm AST---
Bangladesh
Partial Solar Eclipse
4:39 pm BST6:33 pm BST---
Belarus
Partial Solar Eclipse
10:51 am CEST3:09 pm MSD---
Belgium
Partial Solar Eclipse
10:36 am CEST12:15 pm CEST---
Bhutan
Partial Solar Eclipse
6:36 pm CST5:58 pm IST---
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Partial Solar Eclipse
11:09 am CEST12:33 pm CEST---
Bulgaria
Partial Solar Eclipse
11:18 am CEST2:00 pm EEST---
Cambodia
Partial Solar Eclipse
5:57 pm ICT6:38 pm ICT---
Croatia
Partial Solar Eclipse
11:04 am CEST12:34 pm CEST---
Cyprus
Partial Solar Eclipse
1:05 pm EEST2:11 pm EEST---
Czechia
Partial Solar Eclipse
10:47 am CEST12:41 pm CEST---
Denmark
Partial Solar Eclipse
10:33 am CEST12:39 pm CEST---
Estonia
Partial Solar Eclipse
11:43 am EEST1:59 pm EEST---
Faroe Islands
Partial Solar Eclipse
9:20 am WEST11:18 am WEST---
Finland
Partial Solar Eclipse
11:38 am EEST2:01 pm EEST---
France
Partial Solar Eclipse
10:35 am CEST12:14 pm CEST---
Georgia
Partial Solar Eclipse
1:32 pm GET4:44 pm AZST---
Germany
Partial Solar Eclipse
10:35 am CEST12:36 pm CEST---
Greece
Partial Solar Eclipse
12:32 pm EEST1:50 pm EEST---
Guernsey
Partial Solar Eclipse
9:35 am BST10:55 am BST---
Hong Kong
Partial Solar Eclipse
6:43 pm HKT7:04 pm HKT---
Hungary
Partial Solar Eclipse
10:59 am CEST12:49 pm CEST---
Iceland
Partial Solar Eclipse
8:14 am GMT10:17 am GMT---
India
Partial Solar Eclipse
4:17 pm 6:07 pm IST---
Indonesia
Partial Solar Eclipse
6:20 pm WIB6:57 pm WIB---
Iran
Partial Solar Eclipse
12:47 pm EEST4:51 pm IRDT---
Iraq
Partial Solar Eclipse
12:55 pm AST2:55 pm AST---
Ireland
Partial Solar Eclipse
9:20 am IST11:04 am IST---
Isle of Man
Partial Solar Eclipse
9:24 am BST11:06 am BST---
Israel
Partial Solar Eclipse
1:19 pm EEST2:11 pm EEST---
Italy
Partial Solar Eclipse
10:57 am CEST12:20 pm CEST---
Japan
Partial Solar Eclipse
7:02 pm JST7:23 pm JST---
Jersey
Partial Solar Eclipse
9:36 am BST10:53 am BST---
Jordan
Partial Solar Eclipse
1:15 pm AST2:26 pm AST---
Kosovo
Partial Solar Eclipse
11:23 am CEST12:34 pm CEST---
Kuwait
Partial Solar Eclipse
1:24 pm AST2:55 pm AST---
Kyrgyzstan
Partial Solar Eclipse
3:58 pm ALMT8:11 pm CST---
Laos
Partial Solar Eclipse
5:46 pm ICT6:57 pm ICT---
Latvia
Partial Solar Eclipse
11:44 am EEST2:01 pm EEST---
Lebanon
Partial Solar Eclipse
1:09 pm EEST2:17 pm EEST---
Liechtenstein
Partial Solar Eclipse
10:55 am CEST12:11 pm CEST---
Lithuania
Partial Solar Eclipse
11:45 am EEST1:59 pm EEST---
Luxembourg
Partial Solar Eclipse
10:42 am CEST12:12 pm CEST---
Macau
Partial Solar Eclipse
6:43 pm CST7:05 pm CST---
Malaysia
Partial Solar Eclipse
7:15 pm MYT7:39 pm MYT---
Maldives
Partial Solar Eclipse
4:35 pm MVT5:29 pm MVT---
Moldova
Partial Solar Eclipse
12:06 pm EEST2:06 pm EEST---
Monaco
Partial Solar Eclipse
11:23 am CEST11:36 am CEST---
Montenegro
Partial Solar Eclipse
11:20 am CEST12:30 pm CEST---
Myanmar
Partial Solar Eclipse
6:36 pm CST6:30 pm BST---
Nepal
Partial Solar Eclipse
4:15 pm NPT6:14 pm NPT---
Netherlands
Partial Solar Eclipse
10:34 am CEST12:22 pm CEST---
North Korea
Partial Solar Eclipse
7:09 pm KST7:55 pm KST---
North Macedonia
Partial Solar Eclipse
11:28 am CEST12:36 pm CEST---
Norway
Partial Solar Eclipse
10:24 am CEST12:55 pm CEST---
Oman
Partial Solar Eclipse
2:36 pm GST4:19 pm GST---
Pakistan
Partial Solar Eclipse
4:12 pm 6:29 pm ---
Palestine
Partial Solar Eclipse
1:30 pm EEST2:04 pm EEST---
Poland
Partial Solar Eclipse
10:42 am CEST12:54 pm CEST---
Qatar
Partial Solar Eclipse
1:40 pm AST3:03 pm AST---
Romania
Partial Solar Eclipse
12:04 pm EEST2:04 pm EEST---
Saint Pierre and Miquelon
Partial Solar Eclipse
6:24 am PMDT7:24 am PMDT---
San Marino
Partial Solar Eclipse
11:16 am CEST12:03 pm CEST---
Saudi Arabia
Partial Solar Eclipse
1:21 pm AST4:12 pm GST---
Serbia
Partial Solar Eclipse
11:08 am CEST1:43 pm EEST---
Slovakia
Partial Solar Eclipse
10:56 am CEST12:49 pm CEST---
Slovenia
Partial Solar Eclipse
11:02 am CEST12:29 pm CEST---
South Korea
Partial Solar Eclipse
7:16 pm KST7:49 pm KST---
Sri Lanka
Partial Solar Eclipse
4:49 pm IST6:07 pm IST---
Sweden
Partial Solar Eclipse
10:32 am CEST12:52 pm CEST---
Switzerland
Partial Solar Eclipse
10:51 am CEST12:12 pm CEST---
Syria
Partial Solar Eclipse
12:55 pm EEST2:38 pm AST---
Taiwan
Partial Solar Eclipse
6:36 pm CST6:49 pm CST---
Tajikistan
Partial Solar Eclipse
3:01 pm UZT4:44 pm AFT---
Thailand
Partial Solar Eclipse
5:50 pm ICT7:05 pm ICT---
Turkey
Partial Solar Eclipse
12:30 pm EEST4:13 pm IRDT---
Turkmenistan
Partial Solar Eclipse
2:45 pm AQTT5:11 pm TMT---
Ukraine
Partial Solar Eclipse
11:55 am EEST2:25 pm EEST---
United Arab Emirates
Partial Solar Eclipse
2:37 pm GST4:13 pm GST---
United Kingdom
Partial Solar Eclipse
9:16 am BST11:22 am BST---
United States
Partial Solar Eclipse
12:57 am AKDT2:13 am AKDT---
Uzbekistan
Partial Solar Eclipse
2:41 pm AQTT4:42 pm AFT---
Vietnam
Partial Solar Eclipse
5:44 pm ICT6:52 pm ICT---
Yemen
Partial Solar Eclipse
3:17 pm GST3:56 pm GST---
Åland Islands
Partial Solar Eclipse
11:40 am EEST1:50 pm EEST---

All times shown in this table are local time. (Note: more than one time zone is listed.) "Totality duration" gives the time between the start and finish of totality within the entire country (not at one location).

How Many People Can See This Eclipse?

Number of People Seeing...Number of People*Fraction of World Population
Any part of the eclipse3,770,000,00055.37%
At least 10% partial3,440,000,00050.50%
At least 20% partial2,980,000,00043.78%
At least 30% partial2,630,000,00038.68%
At least 40% partial2,270,000,00033.41%
At least 50% partial1,940,000,00028.55%
At least 60% partial1,210,000,00017.82%
At least 70% partial870,000,00012.77%
At least 80% partial675,000,0009.92%
At least 90% partial435,000,0006.39%
Totality or annularity67,700,0000.99%

* The number of people refers to the resident population (as a round number) in areas where the eclipse is visible. timeanddate has calculated these numbers using raw population data provided by the Center for International Earth Science Information Network (CIESIN) at Columbia University. The raw data is based on population estimates from the year 2000 to 2020.

An Eclipse Never Comes Alone!

A solar eclipse always occurs about two weeks before or after a lunar eclipse.

Usually, there are two eclipses in a row, but other times, there are three during the same eclipse season.

All eclipses 1900 — 2199

This is the first eclipse this season.

Second eclipse this season: August 16, 2008 — Partial Lunar Eclipse


Eclipses in 2008