<p>No. As a simple counter-example, consider the recent Great North American Eclipse - the path of the totality took several hours to cross the continent moving from <em>west to east</em>, while at the same time solar noon took several hours to cross the continent moving from <em>east to west</em>. The eclipse cannot possibly have been observed at local solar noon everywhere. The first locations to see the totality happened to see it not too long after local solar noon, while the last locations to see it didn't do so until hours later, considerably after local noon (due to both the delay and the difference in location).</p>
<p>An eclipse is observed when the observer, moon, and sun are all in a line. There is no reason why that should occur only when the sun is directly overhead at local solar noon. The moon can cast a shadow just about anywhere on the daytime side of the planet, not only on the meridian that happens to be directly facing the sun.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-10-04T18:25:39.183Z
2024-10-05T04:11:41.020Z
2024-10-05T04:11:41.020Z
Nuclear Hoagie
<p>No.</p>
<p>Solar eclipses can happen at any point of the day, including sunrise and sunset</p>
<p>The recent eclipse in the USA in 2024 happened at a local time of between 1:40 and 3:30, depending on where you were in the USA, not at noon</p>
<p>The path of the shadow of the moon moves from west to east, and the latitude of local noon moves from east to west, so it is common for there to be a location at which the eclipse is visible at local noon, but for most locations the eclipse wont occur at noon.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-10-04T18:25:46.487Z
2024-10-04T18:25:46.487Z
James K
<p>Absolutely not.</p>
<p>All you need to do on this is look up some of the information about the eclipse path across North America from this past April. Most of the United States got totality in the mid-afternoon, and areas like Newfoundland, off at the far extent of the eclipse path, had totality at nearly 5pm local time.</p>
<p>If you imagine a person standing on the terminator line of the earth and looking towards the setting sun, there is a (roughly) straight line between that person's eyeball and the sun. Is it conceivable that the moon could sit directly in that path to interrupt the line? Yes, of course it is. That's an eclipse, seen from just prior to local sundown, which is clearly not noon.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-10-04T18:31:13.943Z
But, if you draw a straight line from the sun to the center of the earth, and the moon is on the same line, the LOCAL TIME of that eclipse MUST be noon.
lee pappas
CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-10-04T19:37:20.003Z
@leepappas That merely shows it is possible for an eclipse to occur at solar noon. That doesn't mean that is the *only* configuration in which you can see an eclipse. If you draw a straight line from the sun to *any other* spot on the planet, and the moon is on the same line, the local time of that eclipse *must not* be solar noon.
Nuclear Hoagie
CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-10-04T19:48:26.513Z
@NuclearHoagie, i drew another sketch.  When a solar eclipse occurs, the plane of the moon's orbit contains the line from the sun to the earth.  It's tilted 5.1 degrees from the ecliptic plane.  Therefore, if a line is drawn from the sun to any other point on earth's surface other than the point corresponding to noon local time, the moon cannot be on that line, since it's already on the line from the sun to the earth.
lee pappas
CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-10-04T19:58:50.487Z
@leepappas "When a solar eclipse occurs, the plane of the moon's orbit contains the line from the sun to the earth" - yes, the line from the sun to *an observer somewhere on the surface* of the earth, not the center of the planet. It's all about what an observer can see, the center of the planet has basically nothing to do with solar eclipses.
Nuclear Hoagie
CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-10-04T20:17:59.813Z
@nuclearhoagie, It's not worth arguing about.  My sketches are clear to me, it's unfortunate that I can't show you them.
lee pappas
CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-10-04T20:36:38.417Z
@leepappas You can upload your pictures into your question by hitting edit and using the image button in the toolbar.  That said, I'm going to suggest that if you have an idea and the actual physical events from the past year directly contradict your idea, your idea must be in error...
Darth Pseudonym
CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-10-06T08:41:23.703Z
@leepappas Your sketches are obviously wrong. If you do not believe the data online, and the ability to see eclipses yourself at times that aren't noon, *and* you discount experts on a site dedicated to Astronomy, you are not trying to learn, and this site will not be for you.
Rory Alsop
CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-10-04T18:27:53.033Z
2024-10-04T18:27:53.033Z
Darth Pseudonym
<p>I am familiar with Phlegon of Tralles' eclipse, which happened at the 6th hour in Jerusalem, or 12:00 PM LOCAL TIME, eclipse max at</p>
<p>1733366.981 UTC.</p>
<p>The eclipse footprint according to NASA is here:
<a href="https://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/5MCSEmap/0001-0100/33-09-12.gif" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/5MCSEmap/0001-0100/33-09-12.gif</a></p>
<p>1 synodic month= 29.530536 days</p>
<p>Lunation zero full moon December 1922 on
2423392.25 [exact] source: Home Planet astronomy software.</p>
<p>Then I analyzed the local times of 2 other eclipses, the Babylonian eclipse in 602 BC, and the Rome eclipse in 685 BC, and I got noon local times for both those eclipses too.  Then I sketched the situation for an eclipse, and I see clearly from my drawing that the line from the sun to the earth's center is such that an observer on the ground perceives the eclipse as occurring at 12:00 PM LOCAL TIME.</p>
<p>Do all solar eclipses occur at noon local time?</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-10-04T18:49:06.837Z
Solar Eclipse Fundamentals https://eclipsewise.com/solar/SEhelp/SEbasics.html
PM 2Ring
CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-10-06T08:45:39.887Z
This user is a science denier and conspiracy theorist - his questions are not made in good faith. Should be deleted.
Rory Alsop
CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-10-06T09:41:31.720Z
@RoryAlsop, I have two degrees one in math and one in physics.  I have solved the Schrodinger's equation for a hydrogen atom, and derived the spherical harmonics.  You are completely wrong about me.  My questions are in good faith.  All you have to do is draw a straight line from the sun to the earth center.  When the moon is on that line its shadow will be on that line too, and therefore the LOCAL TIME OF THE ECLIPSE will be NOON.
lee pappas
CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-10-07T07:39:40.177Z
lee - you are proving my point so well. Why are you drawing a line to the Earth's centre - it's completely irrelevant.
Rory Alsop
CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-10-07T15:39:00.080Z
@RoryAlsop, light travels in a straight line, that's why you draw a straight line from the sun to the earth center.  Look at the link provided by PM 2ring, solar eclipse fundamentals.  They used the fact that light travels in a straight line in their diagram.
lee pappas
CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-10-07T17:02:19.053Z
@leepappas Yes, look at the diagram! It illustrates a solar eclipse which is observed at a location *where it is not solar noon*. The spot where the moon's umbra falls is not pointed directly at the sun - that diagram clearly shows that the sun need not be directly overhead to observe an eclipse.
Nuclear Hoagie
CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-10-07T18:28:17.163Z
@NuclearHoagie, the umbra only spans 115 km, or about 1 degree of longitude using a lunar radius of 3500 km, twice what NASA uses.  That's only 4 minutes different from noon.
lee pappas
CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-10-08T16:14:05.533Z
@leepappas no, that is drivel. The Earth's centre is irrelevant here. Look at all the possible lines from the sun that pass through the moon and hit any part of the Earth. Guess what - that gives you a wide range of times, for example the eclipse in April this year had local times varying from 0627 to 1641. Doesn't matter if you don't believe it - the tens of thousands of people who watched it know its true.
Rory Alsop
CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-10-08T16:27:30.720Z
@RoryAlsop, I used the diagram in the link provided by PM 2RING.  The earth's radius is 6371 km, the angle at earth center is 1.04°, the formula for arc length is S = r×theta, where r is the radius of earth, and theta is the angle in radians.  Do the math and you will see I'm right.
lee pappas
CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-10-08T17:05:06.187Z
@RoryAlsop, additionally the geocentric lunar latitude must be zero for an eclipse to occur, and that's only true when the sun, moon, and earth are in a straight line.  You have an eclipse occurring when they form a triangle.
lee pappas
CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-10-08T17:14:56.940Z
Goodbye Lee - it's obviously not worthwhile trying to help you.
Rory Alsop
<solar-eclipse><synodic-period>
Is it true that all solar eclipses happen at noon local time?
lee pappas
# Is it true that all solar eclipses happen at noon local time?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2024-10-04)

I am familiar with Phlegon of Tralles' eclipse, which happened at the 6th hour in Jerusalem, or 12:00 PM LOCAL TIME, eclipse max at

1733366.981 UTC.

The eclipse footprint according to NASA is here:
<https://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/5MCSEmap/0001-0100/33-09-12.gif>

1 synodic month= 29.530536 days

Lunation zero full moon December 1922 on
2423392.25 [exact] source: Home Planet astronomy software.

Then I analyzed the local times of 2 other eclipses, the Babylonian eclipse in 602 BC, and the Rome eclipse in 685 BC, and I got noon local times for both those eclipses too. Then I sketched the situation for an eclipse, and I see clearly from my drawing that the line from the sun to the earth's center is such that an observer on the ground perceives the eclipse as occurring at 12:00 PM LOCAL TIME.

Do all solar eclipses occur at noon local time?

**Tags:** solar-eclipse, synodic-period

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: Solar Eclipse Fundamentals https://eclipsewise.com/solar/SEhelp/SEbasics.html  
> **username_2**: This user is a science denier and conspiracy theorist - his questions are not made in good faith. Should be deleted.  
> **username_0**: @RoryAlsop, I have two degrees one in math and one in physics.  I have solved the Schrodinger's equation for a hydrogen atom, and derived the spherical harmonics.  You are completely wrong about me.  My questions are in good faith.  All you have to do is draw a straight line from the sun to the earth center.  When the moon is on that line its shadow will be on that line too, and therefore the LOCAL TIME OF THE ECLIPSE will be NOON.  
> **username_2**: lee - you are proving my point so well. Why are you drawing a line to the Earth's centre - it's completely irrelevant.  
> **username_0**: @RoryAlsop, light travels in a straight line, that's why you draw a straight line from the sun to the earth center.  Look at the link provided by PM 2ring, solar eclipse fundamentals.  They used the fact that light travels in a straight line in their diagram.  
> **username_3**: @leepappas Yes, look at the diagram! It illustrates a solar eclipse which is observed at a location *where it is not solar noon*. The spot where the moon's umbra falls is not pointed directly at the sun - that diagram clearly shows that the sun need not be directly overhead to observe an eclipse.  
> **username_0**: @NuclearHoagie, the umbra only spans 115 km, or about 1 degree of longitude using a lunar radius of 3500 km, twice what NASA uses.  That's only 4 minutes different from noon.  
> **username_2**: @leepappas no, that is drivel. The Earth's centre is irrelevant here. Look at all the possible lines from the sun that pass through the moon and hit any part of the Earth. Guess what - that gives you a wide range of times, for example the eclipse in April this year had local times varying from 0627 to 1641. Doesn't matter if you don't believe it - the tens of thousands of people who watched it know its true.  
> **username_0**: @RoryAlsop, I used the diagram in the link provided by PM 2RING.  The earth's radius is 6371 km, the angle at earth center is 1.04°, the formula for arc length is S = r×theta, where r is the radius of earth, and theta is the angle in radians.  Do the math and you will see I'm right.  
> **username_0**: @RoryAlsop, additionally the geocentric lunar latitude must be zero for an eclipse to occur, and that's only true when the sun, moon, and earth are in a straight line.  You have an eclipse occurring when they form a triangle.  
> **username_2**: Goodbye Lee - it's obviously not worthwhile trying to help you.  

---

## 3 answers

### Answer by username_3 on 2024-10-04. Score: 10

No. As a simple counter-example, consider the recent Great North American Eclipse - the path of the totality took several hours to cross the continent moving from *west to east*, while at the same time solar noon took several hours to cross the continent moving from *east to west*. The eclipse cannot possibly have been observed at local solar noon everywhere. The first locations to see the totality happened to see it not too long after local solar noon, while the last locations to see it didn't do so until hours later, considerably after local noon (due to both the delay and the difference in location).

An eclipse is observed when the observer, moon, and sun are all in a line. There is no reason why that should occur only when the sun is directly overhead at local solar noon. The moon can cast a shadow just about anywhere on the daytime side of the planet, not only on the meridian that happens to be directly facing the sun.


---

### Answer by username_5 on 2024-10-04. Score: 8

Absolutely not.

All you need to do on this is look up some of the information about the eclipse path across North America from this past April. Most of the United States got totality in the mid-afternoon, and areas like Newfoundland, off at the far extent of the eclipse path, had totality at nearly 5pm local time.

If you imagine a person standing on the terminator line of the earth and looking towards the setting sun, there is a (roughly) straight line between that person's eyeball and the sun. Is it conceivable that the moon could sit directly in that path to interrupt the line? Yes, of course it is. That's an eclipse, seen from just prior to local sundown, which is clearly not noon.

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: But, if you draw a straight line from the sun to the center of the earth, and the moon is on the same line, the LOCAL TIME of that eclipse MUST be noon.  
> **username_3**: @leepappas That merely shows it is possible for an eclipse to occur at solar noon. That doesn't mean that is the *only* configuration in which you can see an eclipse. If you draw a straight line from the sun to *any other* spot on the planet, and the moon is on the same line, the local time of that eclipse *must not* be solar noon.  
> **username_0**: @NuclearHoagie, i drew another sketch.  When a solar eclipse occurs, the plane of the moon's orbit contains the line from the sun to the earth.  It's tilted 5.1 degrees from the ecliptic plane.  Therefore, if a line is drawn from the sun to any other point on earth's surface other than the point corresponding to noon local time, the moon cannot be on that line, since it's already on the line from the sun to the earth.  
> **username_3**: @leepappas "When a solar eclipse occurs, the plane of the moon's orbit contains the line from the sun to the earth" - yes, the line from the sun to *an observer somewhere on the surface* of the earth, not the center of the planet. It's all about what an observer can see, the center of the planet has basically nothing to do with solar eclipses.  
> **username_0**: @nuclearhoagie, It's not worth arguing about.  My sketches are clear to me, it's unfortunate that I can't show you them.  
> **username_5**: @leepappas You can upload your pictures into your question by hitting edit and using the image button in the toolbar.  That said, I'm going to suggest that if you have an idea and the actual physical events from the past year directly contradict your idea, your idea must be in error...  
> **username_2**: @leepappas Your sketches are obviously wrong. If you do not believe the data online, and the ability to see eclipses yourself at times that aren't noon, *and* you discount experts on a site dedicated to Astronomy, you are not trying to learn, and this site will not be for you.  

---

### Answer by username_4 on 2024-10-04. Score: 7

No.

Solar eclipses can happen at any point of the day, including sunrise and sunset

The recent eclipse in the USA in 2024 happened at a local time of between 1:40 and 3:30, depending on where you were in the USA, not at noon

The path of the shadow of the moon moves from west to east, and the latitude of local noon moves from east to west, so it is common for there to be a location at which the eclipse is visible at local noon, but for most locations the eclipse wont occur at noon.


---

