A Look Back at the 1994 Annular Eclipse

On May 10, 1994, an annular eclipse of the sun was viewed across central Indiana. An annular eclipse occurs when the moon's apparent size is smaller than the sun, allowing some of the sun to remain visible as the moon crosses it.


Types of solar eclipse. Click to enlarge	Path of the eclipse. Red line is path of greatest eclipse. Click to enlarge. Map courtesy of NASA.

Skies were mostly clear across the Lafayette area during much of the eclipse time. Below is a satellite image from a GOES-8 from about 11:30 AM May 10 1994, showing the moon's shadow across parts of the central USA. Image courtesy of NASA & SSEC.

Visible satellite image of the eclipse

The effect of the eclipse can be seen in the temperature graph for May 10 at the Lafayette Purdue University Airport (KLAF). After rising to 68 degrees at 11 AM EST, the temperature had fallen to 64 degrees at 12 PM, near the peak of the eclipse. The temperature then slowly recovers into early afternoon.

Plot of Lafayette temperatures