A total solar eclipse occurred at the Moon's descending node of orbit on Monday, November 1, 1948,[1] with a magnitude of 1.0231. 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. Occurring about 2.4 days after perigee (on October 29, 1948, at 21:20 UTC), the Moon's apparent diameter was larger.[2]
Totality was visible from Belgian Congo (today's DR Congo), Uganda Protectorate (today's Uganda) including the capital city Kampala, British Kenya (today's Kenya) including the capital city Nairobi, British Seychelles (today's Seychelles), and British Mauritius (today's Mauritius). A partial eclipse was visible for parts of East Africa, Southern Africa, Antarctica, and Australia.
During this eclipse, comet C/1948 V1, also known as the Eclipse Comet of 1948, was discovered shining near the Sun.[3]
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.[4]
| First Penumbral External Contact | 1948 November 01 at 03:19:27.1 UTC | |
| First Umbral External Contact | 1948 November 01 at 04:19:32.4 UTC | |
| First Central Line | 1948 November 01 at 04:19:46.0 UTC | |
| First Umbral Internal Contact | 1948 November 01 at 04:19:59.5 UTC | |
| First Penumbral Internal Contact | 1948 November 01 at 05:28:35.7 UTC | |
| Greatest Eclipse | 1948 November 01 at 05:59:17.9 UTC | |
| Greatest Duration | 1948 November 01 at 06:00:10.8 UTC | |
| Ecliptic Conjunction | 1948 November 01 at 06:03:01.1 UTC | |
| Equatorial Conjunction | 1948 November 01 at 06:16:14.5 UTC | |
| Last Penumbral Internal Contact | 1948 November 01 at 06:29:35.7 UTC | |
| Last Umbral Internal Contact | 1948 November 01 at 07:38:28.6 UTC | |
| Last Central Line | 1948 November 01 at 07:38:39.8 UTC | |
| Last Umbral External Contact | 1948 November 01 at 07:38:51.1 UTC | |
| Last Penumbral External Contact | 1948 November 01 at 08:39:07.0 UTC |
| Eclipse Magnitude | 1.02312 | |
| Eclipse Obscuration | 1.04677 | |
| Gamma | −0.35172 | |
| Sun Right Ascension | 14h25m22.0s | |
| Sun Declination | -14°24'53.4" | |
| Sun Semi-Diameter | 16'07.1" | |
| Sun Equatorial Horizontal Parallax | 08.9" | |
| Moon Right Ascension | 14h24m46.3s | |
| Moon Declination | -14°43'55.8" | |
| Moon Semi-Diameter | 16'14.2" | |
| Moon Equatorial Horizontal Parallax | 0°59'35.3" | |
| ΔT | 28.6 s |
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.