Solar eclipse of August 31, 1932

Solar eclipse of August 31, 1932
Map
Type of eclipse
Nature	Total
Gamma	0.8307
Magnitude	1.0257
Maximum eclipse
Duration	105 s (1 min 45 s)
Coordinates	54°30′N79°30′W / 54.5°N 79.5°W / 54.5; -79.5
Max. width of band	155 km (96 mi)
Times (UTC)
Greatest eclipse	20:03:41
References
Saros	124 (50 of 73)
Catalog # (SE5000)	9357

The total solar eclipse over a country road in Maine

A notice on the eclipse by the Maine Central Railroad Company

A total solar eclipse occurred on August 31, 1932. 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. A total solar eclipse occurs when the Moon's apparent diameter is larger than the Sun's, blocking all direct sunlight, turning day into darkness. Totality occurs in a narrow path across Earth's surface, with the partial solar eclipse visible over a surrounding region thousands of kilometres wide. Totality was visible from Northwest Territories (today's Northwest Territories and Nunavut) and Quebec in Canada, and northeastern Vermont, New Hampshire, southwestern Maine, northeastern tip of Massachusetts and northeastern Cape Cod in the United States.

The partial eclipse in the eastern Soviet Union was seen on September 1 local time.

Observations

Members of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada made observations in Maskinongé, Magog, Acton Vale, Sorel-Tracy and Louisville in Quebec. The sky in Quebec was covered in clouds on the morning of August 31. In the afternoon, the clouds gradually dispersed, and observations of totality were successful ^[1] . In the northeastern United States, scientists also studied the reactions of animals during the eclipse ^[2] .

Related eclipses

Solar eclipses 1931–1935

This eclipse is a member of a semester series. An eclipse in a semester series of solar eclipses repeats approximately every 177 days and 4 hours (a semester) at alternating nodes of the Moon's orbit. ^[3]

Solar eclipse series sets from 1931 to 1935
Descending node			Ascending node
114	September 12, 1931 Partial		119	March 7, 1932 Annular
124	August 31, 1932 Total		129	February 24, 1933 Annular
134	August 21, 1933 Annular		139	February 14, 1934 Total
144	August 10, 1934 Annular		149	February 3, 1935 Partial
154	July 30, 1935 Partial

Saros 124

Solar saros 124, repeating every about 18 years and 11 days, contains 73 events. The series started with partial solar eclipse on March 6, 1049. It contains total eclipses from June 12, 1211, to September 22, 1968, and a hybrid solar eclipse on October 3, 1986. The series ends at member 73 as a partial eclipse on May 11, 2347. The longest total eclipse occurred on May 3, 1734, at 5 minutes and 46 seconds. ^[4]

Series members 43–59 occur between 1801 and 2100:
43	44	45
June 16, 1806	June 26, 1824	July 8, 1842
46	47	48
July 18, 1860	July 29, 1878	August 9, 1896
49	50	51
August 21, 1914	August 31, 1932	September 12, 1950
52	53	54
September 22, 1968	October 3, 1986	October 14, 2004
55	56	57
October 25, 2022	November 4, 2040	November 16, 2058
58	59
November 26, 2076	December 7, 2094

Inex series

This eclipse is a part of the long period inex cycle, repeating at alternating nodes, every 358 synodic months (≈ 10,571.95 days, or 29 years minus 20 days). Their appearance and longitude are irregular due to a lack of synchronization with the anomalistic month (period of perigee). However, groupings of 3 inex cycles (≈ 87 years minus 2 months) comes close (≈ 1,151.02 anomalistic months), so eclipses are similar in these groupings.

In the 19th century:

• Solar Saros 120: Total Solar Eclipse of 1816 Nov 19

• Solar Saros 121: Hybrid Solar Eclipse of 1845 Oct 30

• Solar Saros 122: Annular Solar Eclipse of 1874 Oct 10

Inex series members between 1901 and 2100:
September 21, 1903 (Saros 123)	August 31, 1932 (Saros 124)	August 11, 1961 (Saros 125)
July 22, 1990 (Saros 126)	July 2, 2019 (Saros 127)	June 11, 2048 (Saros 128)
May 22, 2077 (Saros 129)

In the 22nd century:

• Solar Saros 130: Total Solar Eclipse of 2106 May 03

• Solar Saros 131: Annular Solar Eclipse of 2135 Apr 13

• Solar Saros 132: Hybrid Solar Eclipse of 2164 Mar 23

• Solar Saros 133: Total Solar Eclipse of 2193 Mar 03

Metonic series

The metonic series repeats eclipses every 19 years (6939.69 days), lasting about 5 cycles. Eclipses occur in nearly the same calendar date. In addition, the octon subseries repeats 1/5 of that or every 3.8 years (1387.94 days).

22 eclipse events, progressing from north to south between April 8, 1902, and August 31, 1989:
April 7–8	January 24–25	November 12	August 31-September 1	June 19–20
108			114	116
April 8, 1902			August 31, 1913	June 19, 1917
118	120	122	124	126
April 8, 1921	January 24, 1925	November 12, 1928	August 31, 1932	June 19, 1936
128	130	132	134	136
April 7, 1940	January 25, 1944	November 12, 1947	September 1, 1951	June 20, 1955
138	140	142	144	146
April 8, 1959	January 25, 1963	November 12, 1966	August 31, 1970	June 20, 1974
148	150	152	154
April 7, 1978	January 25, 1982	November 12, 1985	August 31, 1989

Notes

1. "Past Solar Eclipses & Expeditions". Royal Astronomical Society of Canada. Archived from the original on 21 April 2016.
2. William Morton Wheeler, Clinton V. MacCoy, Ludlow Griscom, Glover M. Allen and Harold J. Coolidge Jr. (March 1935). "Observations on the Behavior of Animals during the Total Solar Eclipse of August 31, 1932". Proceedings of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. 70 (2). American Academy of Arts and Sciences: 33–70. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020.
3. van Gent, R.H. "Solar- and Lunar-Eclipse Predictions from Antiquity to the Present". A Catalogue of Eclipse Cycles. Utrecht University. Retrieved 6 October 2018.
4. Saros Series Catalog of Solar Eclipses NASA Eclipse Web Site.

References

• Earth visibility chart and eclipse statistics Eclipse Predictions by Fred Espenak, NASA/GSFC
  • Google interactive map
  • Besselian elements