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The Last Solar Eclipse
of the Century

Die letzte Sonnenfinsternis des Jahrhunderts

German and Astronomical Events

“Deckend stand nun Scheibe auf Scheibe -, und dieser Moment war es eigentlich, der wahrhaft herzzermalmend wirkte.”
“Now disk was covering disk -, and it was in fact this moment that had a truly heart-pounding effect.”
- Adalbert Stifter, observing the solar eclipse over Vienna in 1842

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Learn more about the eclipse, more current astronomical events, and related vocabulary via the links below (in German and English).

Dateline: August 9, 1999 - Germans are moving south—at least for a day! This week, especially if the weather cooperates, people in Germany and Austria will experience a truly rare event. On Wednesday, August 11, the century's last total eclipse of the sun (Sonnenfinsternis), indeed the last in this millennium, will race across parts of Europe, stretching from the British Isles, across France, into Germany and Austria, and then on to Romania, Turkey and ever eastward. At sunset over the Bay of Bengal the big event does a final fade to black. (Note: The next solar eclipse over German-speaking Europe won't take place until September 3, 2081!)

We're going to take a look at this amazing event, discuss related German vocabulary, and offer some fascinating links in German and English. The best views in German Europe will be in southern Germany and Austria. Several cities, including Munich and Stuttgart, are holding eclipse-fests. The Vienna Symphony will be in Turkey for the occasion.

You don't have to be a scientist to appreciate this astronomical phenomenon. When you can see the stars (die Sterne) twinkling in the dark sky at midday, surrounding a sun reduced to a glowing ring of flares, it's not something you quickly forget. From beginning to end, the entire solar event in any one location will last about two hours and 40 minutes as the moon takes ever bigger bites out of the sun, blocks all but the corona, and then recedes. Totality only lasts about two minutes, but it's a spectacular sight.

If we could be in space and observe the moon (der Mond) passing between the earth and the sun (die Sonne), its shadow would appear to slowly slide across the earth's surface. On earth (auf der Erde) the shadow actually races across the land at a speed of 1,522 mph. Observers in Stuttgart, Munich, Salzburg, Linz, and Graz, where the sun's deep shadow, or umbra (Kernschatten), will pass, have only about 140 seconds of totality.

At 11:32:40, less than half an hour before noon Central European Time, the residents of Karlsruhe will barely notice that the moon has begun to take a tiny bite out of the sun. Less than two minutes later, at 11:34:01 the same thing will happen in Stuttgart. As the moon's shadow continues its journey southeastward, careful observers in Munich will see the eclipse begin at 11:38:14. Then it is on to Austria. Salzburg's eclipse begins at approximately 11:41, Linz at 11:43, and Graz around 11:45. (See the eclipse map links below for a detailed look.) About an hour or so after the eclipse begins, people in these cities will see a total solar eclipse.

Other places in Germany and Austria will experience only a partial eclipse. Because they are beyond the 100 km (62 mile) wide band of shadow, Berliners, further to Germany's north, will see only 89 percent darkness, with 11 percent of the sun's surface glaring past the moon. In Frankfurt, the sun will be about 98 percent covered. In Switzerland, people in Basel and Zurich will see a 97-percent eclipse. But even a 99-percent eclipse pales in comparison to the real thing. The difference is literally like night and day. The spectacular corona can only be seen during a total eclipse.

Weather forecasters predict a 50 percent chance that the skies over Europe will be clear, allowing the maximum impact of the eclipse to be seen. But even if it's cloudy, day will turn to night for just over two minutes. People in German Europe are hoping the skies will be clear, because the next solar eclipse over that part of the world won't take place until September 3, 2081! (The first of the new millennium was over Africa in 2001. But the first European solar eclipse of the 21st century will be over Spain on August 12, 2026.)

"Seltsam war es, daß dies unheimliche, klumpenhafte, tiefschwarze vorrückende Ding, das langsam die Sonne wegfraß, unser Mond sein sollte, der schöne, sanfte Mond, der sonst die Nächte so florig silbern beglänzte..."

That's how Austrian writer Adalbert Stifter described how the moon slowly devoured the sun during the 1842 solar eclipse over Vienna. You can read his complete description at the special page by the University of Vienna (in German only). During the 1999 eclipse, observers will not be able to see complete darkness descend over Vienna's St. Stephen's Cathedral (Stephansdom) and Schloß Belvedere, as Stifter did over a century-and-half before, because Vienna is outside the total eclipse zone.

Even if you can't be in Germany or Austria, there are several ways to see the eclipse. There will be numerous Webcams recording the event live for the Internet. In the US, the Discovery Channel will broadcast the eclipse to television viewers. In Europe also, there are plans to broadcast live TV images of the century's last solar eclipse.

Learn more about the eclipse, more current astronomical events, and related vocabulary via the links below (in German and English).

Eclipse Glossary
A German-English dictionary of eclipse-related vocabulary.

Astronomy and Aerospace Glossary
An annotated English-German dictionary.

The Last Solar Eclipseof the Century

Die letzte Sonnenfinsternis des Jahrhunderts

German and Astronomical Events

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The Last Solar Eclipse
of the Century