Solar eclipse of May 31, 2003

An annular solar eclipse occurred at the Moon's ascending node of orbit on Saturday, May 31, 2003, with a magnitude of 0.9384. A solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes between Earth and the Sun, thereby totally or partly obscuring the image of the Sun for a viewer on Earth. An annular solar eclipse occurs when the Moon's apparent diameter is smaller than the Sun's, blocking most of the Sun's light and causing the Sun to look like an annulus (ring). An annular eclipse appears as a partial eclipse over a region of the Earth thousands of kilometres wide. Annularity was visible across central Greenland, the Faroe Islands, Iceland, Jan Mayen and northern Scotland. Partiality was visible throughout Europe, Asia, and far northwestern Canada.

People from around the world traveled to see the eclipse from the small portion of Britain from which it could be seen, with the Independent saying: "A timely gap in the clouds was all it took to make the arduous journey to the northernmost reaches of Scotland worthwhile". In the village of Durness, the eclipse was observed by Patrick Moore and Brian May. However, viewing parties in Orkney saw "just another grey morning in the far north of Scotland". In India, hundreds of thousands of Hindus carried out a tradition of bathing in sacred rivers during the eclipse, with queues as long as 3 mi. A partial eclipse was observed in large parts of Asia, the middle East, and Europe, including Greece.

Eclipses of 2003

 * A total lunar eclipse on May 16.
 * An annular solar eclipse (one limit) on May 31.
 * A total lunar eclipse on November 9.
 * A total solar eclipse on November 23.

Metonic

 * Preceded by: Solar eclipse of August 11, 1999
 * Followed by: Solar eclipse of March 19, 2007

Tzolkinex

 * Preceded by: Solar eclipse of April 17, 1996
 * Followed by: Solar eclipse of July 11, 2010

Half-Saros

 * Preceded by: Lunar eclipse of May 25, 1994
 * Followed by: Lunar eclipse of June 4, 2012

Tritos

 * Preceded by: Solar eclipse of June 30, 1992
 * Followed by: Solar eclipse of April 29, 2014

Solar Saros 147

 * Preceded by: Solar eclipse of May 19, 1985
 * Followed by: Solar eclipse of June 10, 2021

Inex

 * Preceded by: Solar eclipse of June 20, 1974
 * Followed by: Solar eclipse of May 9, 2032

Triad

 * Preceded by: Solar eclipse of July 30, 1916
 * Followed by: Solar eclipse of March 31, 2090