Solar eclipse of April 8, 1921 explained

An annular solar eclipse occurred at the Moon's descending node of orbit on Friday, April 8, 1921,[1] with a magnitude of 0.9753. 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. The Moon's apparent diameter was near the average diameter because it occurred 6.5 days after apogee (on April 1, 1921, at 20:50 UTC) and 8.3 days before perigee (on April 16, 1921, at 16:10 UTC).[2]

Annularity was visible from northern Scotland, northwestern tip of Norway, and islands in the Arctic Ocean in Russian SFSR. A partial eclipse was visible for parts of North Africa, Europe, Central Asia, and the Russian SFSR.

Eclipse details

Shown below are two tables displaying details about this particular solar eclipse. The first table outlines times at which the moon's penumbra or umbra attains the specific parameter, and the second table describes various other parameters pertaining to this eclipse.[3]

April 8, 1921 Solar Eclipse Times! Event! Time (UTC)
First Penumbral External Contact1921 April 08 at 06:51:44.6 UTC
First Umbral External Contact1921 April 08 at 08:21:25.5 UTC
First Central Line1921 April 08 at 08:23:38.1 UTC
Greatest Duration1921 April 08 at 08:23:38.1 UTC
First Umbral Internal Contact1921 April 08 at 08:25:55.2 UTC
Ecliptic Conjunction1921 April 08 at 09:05:08.6 UTC
Greatest Eclipse1921 April 08 at 09:15:01.3 UTC
Equatorial Conjunction1921 April 08 at 09:44:56.4 UTC
Last Umbral Internal Contact1921 April 08 at 10:03:48.2 UTC
Last Central Line1921 April 08 at 10:06:02.5 UTC
Last Umbral External Contact1921 April 08 at 10:08:12.1 UTC
Last Penumbral External Contact1921 April 08 at 11:37:57.8 UTC
April 8, 1921 Solar Eclipse Parameters! Parameter! Value
Eclipse Magnitude0.97530
Eclipse Obscuration0.95120
Gamma0.88692
Sun Right Ascension01h06m22.7s
Sun Declination+07°03'40.4"
Sun Semi-Diameter15'58.0"
Sun Equatorial Horizontal Parallax08.8"
Moon Right Ascension01h05m24.3s
Moon Declination+07°51'45.1"
Moon Semi-Diameter15'28.0"
Moon Equatorial Horizontal Parallax0°56'45.6"
ΔT22.3 s

Eclipse season

See also: Eclipse cycle. This eclipse is part of an eclipse season, a period, roughly every six months, when eclipses occur. Only two (or occasionally three) eclipse seasons occur each year, and each season lasts about 35 days and repeats just short of six months (173 days) later; thus two full eclipse seasons always occur each year. Either two or three eclipses happen each eclipse season. In the sequence below, each eclipse is separated by a fortnight.

Related eclipses

Eclipses in 1921

Metonic

Tzolkinex

Half-Saros

Tritos

Solar Saros 118

Inex

Triad

Inex series

Notes and References

  1. Web site: April 8, 1921 Annular Solar Eclipse. timeanddate. 2 August 2024.
  2. Web site: Moon Distances for London, United Kingdom, England. timeanddate. 2 August 2024.
  3. Web site: Annular Solar Eclipse of 1921 Apr 08. EclipseWise.com. 2 August 2024.