Solar eclipse of February 25, 1952
| Solar eclipse of February 25, 1952 | |
|---|---|
 Map | |
| Type of eclipse | |
| Nature | Total |
| Gamma | 0.4697 |
| Magnitude | 1.0366 |
| Maximum eclipse | |
| Duration | 189 s (3 min 9 s) |
| Coordinates | 15°36′N 32°42′E / 15.6°N 32.7°E |
| Max. width of band | 138 km (86 mi) |
| Times (UTC) | |
| Greatest eclipse | 9:11:35 |
| References | |
| Saros | 139 (26 of 71) |
| Catalog # (SE5000) | 9402 |
A total solar eclipse occurred at the Moon's ascending node of orbit on Monday, February 25, 1952, with a magnitude of 1.0366. 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. The path of totality crossed Africa, the Middle East, and Asia. [1] [2] [3] [4] [5]
Observations[edit]
Astronomers from various countries started traveling to Khartoum, capital of Anglo-Egyptian Sudan from January 1952. The team of the United States Naval Research Laboratory made studies in radio astronomy, spectrum, luminosity of corona and spectral observations.[6] Teams of the High Altitude Observatory of Harvard University and University of Colorado analyzed the spectrum of the Balmer series in the hydrogen spectral series.[7] In addition, French astronomer Bernard Ferdinand Lyot, who invented the coronagraph that allows observing the solar corona at any time, not limited to total solar eclipses, died of a heart attack in Cairo, Egypt on his way back from observing the total solar eclipse in Sudan.[8]
Related eclipses[edit]
Eclipses in 1952[edit]
- A partial lunar eclipse on February 11, 1952.
- A total solar eclipse on February 25, 1952.
- A partial lunar eclipse on August 5, 1952.
- An annular solar eclipse on August 20, 1952.
Metonic[edit]
- Preceded by: Solar eclipse of May 9, 1948
- Followed by: Solar eclipse of December 14, 1955
Tzolkinex[edit]
- Preceded by: Solar eclipse of January 14, 1945
- Followed by: Solar eclipse of April 8, 1959
Half-Saros[edit]
- Preceded by: Lunar eclipse of February 20, 1943
- Followed by: Lunar eclipse of March 2, 1961
Tritos[edit]
- Preceded by: Solar eclipse of March 27, 1941
- Followed by: Solar eclipse of January 25, 1963
Solar Saros 139[edit]
- Preceded by: Solar eclipse of February 14, 1934
- Followed by: Solar eclipse of March 7, 1970
Inex[edit]
- Preceded by: Solar eclipse of March 17, 1923
- Followed by: Solar eclipse of February 4, 1981
Triad[edit]
- Preceded by: Solar eclipse of April 25, 1865
- Followed by: Solar eclipse of December 26, 2038
Solar eclipses of 1950–1953[edit]
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.[9]
The partial solar eclipse on July 11, 1953 occurs in the next lunar year eclipse set.
| Solar eclipse series sets from 1950 to 1953 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ascending node | Descending node | |||||
| Saros | Map | Gamma | Saros | Map | Gamma | |
| 119 | March 18, 1950 Annular (non-central) |
0.9988 | 124 | September 12, 1950 Total |
0.8903 | |
| 129 | March 7, 1951 Annular |
−0.242 | 134 | September 1, 1951 Annular |
0.1557 | |
| 139 | February 25, 1952 Total |
0.4697 | 144 | August 20, 1952 Annular |
−0.6102 | |
| 149 | February 14, 1953 Partial |
1.1331 | 154 | August 9, 1953 Partial |
−1.344 | |
Saros 139[edit]
This eclipse is a part of Saros series 139, repeating every 18 years, 11 days, and containing 71 events. The series started with a partial solar eclipse on May 17, 1501. It contains hybrid eclipses from August 11, 1627 through December 9, 1825 and total eclipses from December 21, 1843 through March 26, 2601. There are no annular eclipses in this set. The series ends at member 71 as a partial eclipse on July 3, 2763. Its eclipses are tabulated in three columns; every third eclipse in the same column is one exeligmos apart, so they all cast shadows over approximately the same parts of the Earth.
The longest duration of totality will be produced by member 61 at 7 minutes, 29.22 seconds on July 16, 2186. This date is the longest solar eclipse computed between 4000 BC and AD 6000.[10] All eclipses in this series occur at the Moon’s ascending node of orbit.[11]
| Series members 18–39 occur between 1801 and 2200: | ||
|---|---|---|
| 18 | 19 | 20 |
 November 29, 1807 |
 December 9, 1825 |
 December 21, 1843 |
| 21 | 22 | 23 |
 December 31, 1861 |
 January 11, 1880 |
 January 22, 1898 |
| 24 | 25 | 26 |
 February 3, 1916 |
 February 14, 1934 |
February 25, 1952 |
| 27 | 28 | 29 |
 March 7, 1970 |
 March 18, 1988 |
 March 29, 2006 |
| 30 | 31 | 32 |
 April 8, 2024 |
 April 20, 2042 |
 April 30, 2060 |
| 33 | 34 | 35 |
 May 11, 2078 |
 May 22, 2096 |
 June 3, 2114 |
| 36 | 37 | 38 |
 June 13, 2132 |
 June 25, 2150 |
 July 5, 2168 |
| 39 | ||
 July 16, 2186 | ||
Metonic series[edit]
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 between December 13, 1898 and July 20, 1982 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| December 13–14 | October 1–2 | July 20–21 | May 9 | February 24–25 |
| 111 | 113 | 115 | 117 | 119 |
 December 13, 1898 |
 July 21, 1906 |
 May 9, 1910 |
 February 25, 1914 | |
| 121 | 123 | 125 | 127 | 129 |
 December 14, 1917 |
 October 1, 1921 |
 July 20, 1925 |
 May 9, 1929 |
 February 24, 1933 |
| 131 | 133 | 135 | 137 | 139 |
 December 13, 1936 |
 October 1, 1940 |
 July 20, 1944 |
 May 9, 1948 |
February 25, 1952 |
| 141 | 143 | 145 | 147 | 149 |
 December 14, 1955 |
 October 2, 1959 |
 July 20, 1963 |
 May 9, 1967 |
 February 25, 1971 |
| 151 | 153 | 155 | ||
 December 13, 1974 |
 October 2, 1978 |
 July 20, 1982 | ||
Notes[edit]
- ^ "Today's Total Eclipse May Yield New Facts On Sun's Chemistry And Age". The Vancouver News-Herald. Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. 1952-02-26. p. 4. Retrieved 2023-10-17 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Eclipse Studied in Sudan to Test Einstein's Theory". Richmond Times-Dispatch. Richmond, Virginia. 1952-02-26. p. 15. Retrieved 2023-10-17 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "'PERFECT' CONDITIONS FOR TOTAL ECLIPSE OF THE SUN". The Guardian. London, Greater London, England. 1952-02-26. p. 5. Retrieved 2023-10-17 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Scientists View Total Sun Eclipse". The News. Frederick, Maryland. 1952-02-26. p. 1. Retrieved 2023-10-17 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Top Scientists Get Rare Glimpse of Full Eclipse". St. Louis Globe-Democrat. St. Louis, Missouri. 1952-02-26. p. 1. Retrieved 2023-10-17 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ M. K. Aly (April 1952). "Khartoum expeditions for total solar eclipse of February 25th, 1952". The Observatory. 72: 63–72. Archived from the original on 6 April 2017.
- ^ Athay, R. G., Billings, D. E., Evans, J. W., & Roberts, W. O. "Emission in Hydrogen Balmer Lines and Continuum in Flash Spectrum of 1952 Total Solar Eclipse at Khartoum, Sudan". The Astrophysical Journal. 120: 94–111. Archived from the original on 6 April 2017.
{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ "Bernard Lyot (1897--1952)". Université de Montréal. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016.
- ^ 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.
- ^ Ten Millennium Catalog of Long Solar Eclipses, −3999 to +6000 (4000 BCE to 6000 CE) Fred Espenak.
- ^ "NASA - Catalog of Solar Eclipses of Saros 139". eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov.
References[edit]
- Earth visibility chart and eclipse statistics Eclipse Predictions by Fred Espenak, NASA/GSFC
- Solar eclipse of February 25, 1952 in Russia Archived January 3, 2010, at the Wayback Machine
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