Solar eclipse of January 25, 1944

Solar eclipse of January 25, 1944
Map
Type of eclipse
Nature	Total
Gamma	0.2025
Magnitude	1.0428
Maximum eclipse
Duration	249 s (4 min 9 s)
Coordinates	7°36′S50°12′W / 7.6°S 50.2°W / -7.6; -50.2
Max. width of band	146 km (91 mi)
Times (UTC)
Greatest eclipse	15:26:42
References
Saros	130 (48 of 73)
Catalog # (SE5000)	9384

A total solar eclipse occurred on Tuesday, January 25, 1944. 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 Peru, Brazil, British Sierra Leone (today's Sierra Leone), and French West Africa (the parts now belonging to Guinea, Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger, including Guinean capital Conakry). At greatest eclipse, the Sun was 78 degrees above horizon (just 12 degrees from zenith).

Observations

The National Astronomical Observatory in Tacubaya, Mexico sent a team to Chiclayo, Peru. The weather was clear during the eclipse, and because totality occurred shortly after sunrise with a relatively low solar zenith angle, the boundary between the corona and the background of the sky was not so obvious. Most images were taken successfully except for one with the long focus camera ^[1] .

Related eclipses

Solar eclipses 1942–1946

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. ^[2]

Note: The partial solar eclipse on September 10, 1942 occurs in the previous lunar year eclipse set.

Solar eclipse series sets from 1942 to 1946
Ascending node			Descending node
115	August 12, 1942 Partial		120	February 4, 1943 Total
125	August 1, 1943 Annular		130	January 25, 1944 Total
135	July 20, 1944 Annular		140	January 14, 1945 Annular
145	July 9, 1945 Total		150	January 3, 1946 Partial
155	June 29, 1946 Partial

Saros 130

This eclipse is a part of Saros cycle 130, repeating every 18 years, 11 days, containing 73 events. The series started with partial solar eclipse on August 20, 1096. It contains total eclipses from April 5, 1475 through July 18, 2232. There are no annular eclipses in the series. The series ends at member 73 as a partial eclipse on October 25, 2394. The longest duration of totality was 6 minutes, 41 seconds on July 11, 1619. All eclipses in this series occurs at the Moon’s descending node. ^[3]

Series members 43–56 between 1853 and 2300
43	44	45
November 30, 1853	December 12, 1871	December 22, 1889
46	47	48
January 3, 1908	January 14, 1926	January 25, 1944
49	50	51
February 5, 1962	February 16, 1980	February 26, 1998
52	53	54
March 9, 2016	March 20, 2034	March 30, 2052
55	56	57
April 11, 2070	April 21, 2088	May 3, 2106
58	59	60
May 14, 2124	May 25, 2142	June 4, 2160
61	62	63
June 16, 2178	June 26, 2196	July 8, 2214
64	65	66
July 18, 2232	July 30, 2250	August 9, 2268
67
August 20, 2286

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. Harlow Shapley (1944). "Total Solar Eclipse of January 25, 1944". Popular Astronomy . 52: 107. Archived from the original on 27 August 2019.
2. 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.
3. "Saros Series catalog of solar eclipses". NASA.

References

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