Solar eclipse of May 30, 1946 explained

A partial solar eclipse occurred at the Moon's ascending node of orbit on Thursday, May 30, 1946,[1] with a magnitude of 0.8865. 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 second of four partial solar eclipses in 1946, with the others occurring on January 3, June 29, and November 23.

A partial eclipse was visible for parts of eastern Oceania and western 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]

May 30, 1946 Solar Eclipse Times! Event! Time (UTC)
First Penumbral External Contact1946 May 30 at 19:08:19.4 UTC
Equatorial Conjunction1946 May 30 at 20:32:06.1 UTC
Ecliptic Conjunction1946 May 30 at 20:49:47.0 UTC
Greatest Eclipse1946 May 30 at 21:00:23.7 UTC
Last Penumbral External Contact1946 May 30 at 22:52:40.4 UTC
May 30, 1946 Solar Eclipse Parameters! Parameter! Value
Eclipse Magnitude0.88652
Eclipse Obscuration0.86992
Gamma−1.07105
Sun Right Ascension04h28m24.9s
Sun Declination+21°46'41.4"
Sun Semi-Diameter15'46.4"
Sun Equatorial Horizontal Parallax08.7"
Moon Right Ascension04h29m34.6s
Moon Declination+20°43'10.9"
Moon Semi-Diameter16'43.0"
Moon Equatorial Horizontal Parallax1°01'21.2"
ΔT27.5 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. The first and last eclipse in this sequence is separated by one synodic month.

Related eclipses

Eclipses in 1946

Metonic

Tzolkinex

Half-Saros

Tritos

Solar Saros 117

Inex

Triad

Inex series

Notes and References

  1. Web site: May 30, 1946 Partial Solar Eclipse. timeanddate. 4 August 2024.
  2. Web site: Partial Solar Eclipse of 1946 May 30. EclipseWise.com. 4 August 2024.