Solar eclipse of January 3, 1946 explained

A partial solar eclipse occurred at the Moon's descending node of orbit on Thursday, January 3, 1946,[1] with a magnitude of 0.5529. 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 partial solar eclipse occurs in the polar regions of the Earth when the center of the Moon's shadow misses the Earth.

This was the first of four partial solar eclipses in 1946, with the others occurring on May 30, June 29, and November 23.

A partial eclipse was visible for parts of Antarctica and extreme southern South America.

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.[2]

January 3, 1946 Solar Eclipse Times! Event! Time (UTC)
First Penumbral External Contact1946 January 03 at 10:25:50.6 UTC
Greatest Eclipse1946 January 03 at 12:16:10.7 UTC
Equatorial Conjunction1946 January 03 at 12:16:37.9 UTC
Ecliptic Conjunction1946 January 03 at 12:30:05.5 UTC
Last Penumbral External Contact1946 January 03 at 14:06:25.7 UTC
January 3, 1946 Solar Eclipse Parameters! Parameter! Value
Eclipse Magnitude0.55294
Eclipse Obscuration0.43993
Gamma−1.23918
Sun Right Ascension18h54m29.6s
Sun Declination-22°51'18.5"
Sun Semi-Diameter16'15.9"
Sun Equatorial Horizontal Parallax08.9"
Moon Right Ascension18h54m28.6s
Moon Declination-23°59'55.4"
Moon Semi-Diameter15'07.7"
Moon Equatorial Horizontal Parallax0°55'31.2"
ΔT27.3 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 1946

Metonic

Tzolkinex

Half-Saros

Tritos

Solar Saros 150

Inex

Triad

Inex series

Notes and References

  1. Web site: January 3, 1946 Partial Solar Eclipse. timeanddate. 4 August 2024.
  2. Web site: Partial Solar Eclipse of 1946 Jan 03. EclipseWise.com. 4 August 2024.