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Solar eclipse of January 14, 1926

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Solar eclipse of January 14, 1926
A photo of the eclipse, taken from Sumatra by John A. Miller of the Swarthmore expedition
Map
Type of eclipse
NatureTotal
Gamma0.1973
Magnitude1.043
Maximum eclipse
Duration251 s (4 min 11 s)
Coordinates10°06′S 82°18′E / 10.1°S 82.3°E / -10.1; 82.3
Max. width of band147 km (91 mi)
Times (UTC)
Greatest eclipse6:36:58
References
Saros130 (47 of 73)
Catalog # (SE5000)9341

A total solar eclipse occurred at the Moon's descending node of orbit on Thursday, January 14, 1926,[1] with a magnitude of 1.043. A solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes between Earth and the Sun, thereby totally or partly obscuring 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 17 hours after perigee (on January 14, 1926, at 23:30 UTC), the Moon's apparent diameter was larger.[2]

Totality was visible from French Equatorial Africa (the part now belonging to Central African Republic), northeastern Belgian Congo (today's DR Congo), southwestern tip of Anglo-Egyptian Sudan (the part now belonging to South Sudan), British Uganda (today's Uganda), British Kenya (today's Kenya), southern tip of Italian Somaliland (today's Somalia), British Seychelles (today's Seychelles), Dutch East Indies (today's Indonesia), North Borneo (now belonging to Malaysia), and Philippines. A partial eclipse was visible for parts of East Africa, the Middle East, South Asia, Southeast Asia, East Asia, and Australia.

Observations

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The event was observed by astronomers, of which several groups gathered in Sumatra, to watch the eclipse.[3] One was from Germany, one was from the Netherlands, and three were from the United States (the Naval Observatory, Sproul Observatory, and the Bureau of Standards).[3][4] A Reuters correspondent gave the total number of astronomers on Sumatra as 50.[5]

The Dutch expedition, in Palambang, was unable to observe the first phase of the eclipse (due to cloud coverage);[5] the leader of a British expedition in Bencoolen reported that he had "carried out his full program".[5] The Naval Observatory was specifically cited as being set up in Tebing Tinggi, in the southeast of Sumatra.[6] One objective of the observations was to evaluate Albert Einstein's theory of general relativity; cloudy conditions made this difficult. John Miller, head of an expedition from Swarthmore College set up in Bencoolen,[6] is quoted by the Philadelphia Inquirer:[7]

That theory, which was advanced a few years ago to support Newton's law of gravitation, has proved difficult to astronomers, since important data bearing upon it can only be gathered during periods of total eclipse of the Sun. The eclipse in January of last year, which was visible in sections of New England, was also a failure in that respect, since atmospheric conditions were not satisfactory for applying the Einstein theory to the test. Special photographic equipment for gathering data on the theory was taken to Sumatra by the Swarthmore scientists, and four playtes wer made during the eclipse, Dr. Miller cabled.

[...]

"No authentic statement can be made until after the plates have been developed, but we believe that the ten plates exposed in the great 62-foot camera are not seriously affected; the ones in the shorter cameras may be, but it is not likely. We are apprehensive that the four plates exposed in the fifteen-foot twin-camera for the Einstein effect are damaged. The stars surrounding the sun were rather faint and we fear the thin clouds may have blotted the faint stars out. If this is so the Einstein experiment will have failed."[7]

The Swarthmore team had arrived in November 1925, and taken two months to set up the equipment for the observation.[7] Apart from the relativity experiments, other photographs were taken to better understand the composition of the Sun's corona: "Because of the immense distances from the sun's surface which the corona attains, it has been assumed by astronomers that the corona was not composed of gases as are the 'prominences,' seen nearer the surface. What the composition of the corona may be has not been discovered."[4] While the experiments in Sumatra observed the event nearly unobstructed, others in Manila failed completely, on account of cloudy weather.[4][6] Australian reports from Melbourne confirmed it was visible there.[4] [6]

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The eclipse plays a central role in the Call of Cthulhu campaign 'Masks of Nyarlathotep'.

Eclipse details

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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.[8]

January 14, 1926 Solar Eclipse Times
Event Time (UTC)
First Penumbral External Contact 1926 January 14 at 03:59:05.5 UTC
First Umbral External Contact 1926 January 14 at 04:54:54.7 UTC
First Central Line 1926 January 14 at 04:55:36.5 UTC
First Umbral Internal Contact 1926 January 14 at 04:56:18.3 UTC
First Penumbral Internal Contact 1926 January 14 at 05:53:59.2 UTC
Ecliptic Conjunction 1926 January 14 at 06:34:55.9 UTC
Greatest Duration 1926 January 14 at 06:36:14.0 UTC
Greatest Eclipse 1926 January 14 at 06:36:57.7 UTC
Equatorial Conjunction 1926 January 14 at 06:38:24.8 UTC
Last Penumbral Internal Contact 1926 January 14 at 07:19:54.3 UTC
Last Umbral Internal Contact 1926 January 14 at 08:17:34.9 UTC
Last Central Line 1926 January 14 at 08:18:17.6 UTC
Last Umbral External Contact 1926 January 14 at 08:19:00.3 UTC
Last Penumbral External Contact 1926 January 14 at 09:14:47.1 UTC
January 14, 1926 Solar Eclipse Parameters
Parameter Value
Eclipse Magnitude 1.04305
Eclipse Obscuration 1.08795
Gamma 0.19725
Sun Right Ascension 19h40m49.1s
Sun Declination -21°25'36.6"
Sun Semi-Diameter 16'15.6"
Sun Equatorial Horizontal Parallax 08.9"
Moon Right Ascension 19h40m45.4s
Moon Declination -21°13'35.8"
Moon Semi-Diameter 16'40.7"
Moon Equatorial Horizontal Parallax 1°01'12.6"
ΔT 23.9 s

Eclipse season

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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.

Eclipse season of January 1926
January 14
Descending node (new moon)
January 28
Ascending node (full moon)
Total solar eclipse
Solar Saros 130
Penumbral lunar eclipse
Lunar Saros 142
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Eclipses in 1926

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Metonic

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Tzolkinex

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Half-Saros

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Tritos

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Solar Saros 130

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Inex

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Triad

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Solar eclipses of 1924–1928

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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 eclipses on March 5, 1924 and August 30, 1924 occur in the previous lunar year eclipse set, and the solar eclipses on May 19, 1928 and November 12, 1928 occur in the next lunar year eclipse set.

Solar eclipse series sets from 1924 to 1928
Ascending node   Descending node
Saros Map Gamma Saros Map Gamma
115 July 31, 1924

Partial
−1.4459 120 January 24, 1925

Total
0.8661
125 July 20, 1925

Annular
−0.7193 130

Totality in Sumatra, Indonesia
January 14, 1926

Total
0.1973
135 July 9, 1926

Annular
0.0538 140 January 3, 1927

Annular
−0.4956
145 June 29, 1927

Total
0.8163 150 December 24, 1927

Partial
−1.2416
155 June 17, 1928

Partial
1.5107

Saros 130

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This eclipse is a part of Saros series 130, repeating every 18 years, 11 days, and containing 73 events. The series started with a partial solar eclipse on August 20, 1096. It contains total eclipses from April 5, 1475 through July 18, 2232. There are no annular or hybrid eclipses in this set. The series ends at member 73 as a partial eclipse on October 25, 2394. 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 was produced by member 30 at 6 minutes, 41 seconds on July 11, 1619. All eclipses in this series occur at the Moon’s descending node of orbit.[10]

Series members 41–62 occur between 1801 and 2200:
41 42 43

November 9, 1817

November 20, 1835

November 30, 1853
44 45 46

December 12, 1871

December 22, 1889

January 3, 1908
47 48 49

January 14, 1926

January 25, 1944

February 5, 1962
50 51 52

February 16, 1980

February 26, 1998

March 9, 2016
53 54 55

March 20, 2034

March 30, 2052

April 11, 2070
56 57 58

April 21, 2088

May 3, 2106

May 14, 2124
59 60 61

May 25, 2142

June 4, 2160

June 16, 2178
62

June 26, 2196

Metonic series

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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). All eclipses in this table occur at the Moon's descending node.

22 eclipse events between March 27, 1884 and August 20, 1971
March 27–29 January 14 November 1–2 August 20–21 June 8
108 110 112 114 116

March 27, 1884

August 20, 1895

June 8, 1899
118 120 122 124 126

March 29, 1903

January 14, 1907

November 2, 1910

August 21, 1914

June 8, 1918
128 130 132 134 136

March 28, 1922

January 14, 1926

November 1, 1929

August 21, 1933

June 8, 1937
138 140 142 144 146

March 27, 1941

January 14, 1945

November 1, 1948

August 20, 1952

June 8, 1956
148 150 152 154

March 27, 1960

January 14, 1964

November 2, 1967

August 20, 1971

Tritos series

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This eclipse is a part of a tritos cycle, repeating at alternating nodes every 135 synodic months (≈ 3986.63 days, or 11 years minus 1 month). Their appearance and longitude are irregular due to a lack of synchronization with the anomalistic month (period of perigee), but groupings of 3 tritos cycles (≈ 33 years minus 3 months) come close (≈ 434.044 anomalistic months), so eclipses are similar in these groupings.

Series members between 1801 and 2200

December 21, 1805
(Saros 119)

November 19, 1816
(Saros 120)

October 20, 1827
(Saros 121)

September 18, 1838
(Saros 122)

August 18, 1849
(Saros 123)

July 18, 1860
(Saros 124)

June 18, 1871
(Saros 125)

May 17, 1882
(Saros 126)

April 16, 1893
(Saros 127)

March 17, 1904
(Saros 128)

February 14, 1915
(Saros 129)

January 14, 1926
(Saros 130)

December 13, 1936
(Saros 131)

November 12, 1947
(Saros 132)

October 12, 1958
(Saros 133)

September 11, 1969
(Saros 134)

August 10, 1980
(Saros 135)

July 11, 1991
(Saros 136)

June 10, 2002
(Saros 137)

May 10, 2013
(Saros 138)

April 8, 2024
(Saros 139)

March 9, 2035
(Saros 140)

February 5, 2046
(Saros 141)

January 5, 2057
(Saros 142)

December 6, 2067
(Saros 143)

November 4, 2078
(Saros 144)

October 4, 2089
(Saros 145)

September 4, 2100
(Saros 146)

August 4, 2111
(Saros 147)

July 4, 2122
(Saros 148)

June 3, 2133
(Saros 149)

May 3, 2144
(Saros 150)

April 2, 2155
(Saros 151)

March 2, 2166
(Saros 152)

January 29, 2177
(Saros 153)

December 29, 2187
(Saros 154)

November 28, 2198
(Saros 155)

Inex series

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This eclipse is a part of the long period inex cycle, repeating at alternating nodes, every 358 synodic months (≈ 10,571.95 days, or 29 years minus 20 days). Their appearance and longitude are irregular due to a lack of synchronization with the anomalistic month (period of perigee). However, groupings of 3 inex cycles (≈ 87 years minus 2 months) comes close (≈ 1,151.02 anomalistic months), so eclipses are similar in these groupings.

Series members between 1801 and 2200

April 4, 1810
(Saros 126)

March 15, 1839
(Saros 127)

February 23, 1868
(Saros 128)

February 1, 1897
(Saros 129)

January 14, 1926
(Saros 130)

December 25, 1954
(Saros 131)

December 4, 1983
(Saros 132)

November 13, 2012
(Saros 133)

October 25, 2041
(Saros 134)

October 4, 2070
(Saros 135)

September 14, 2099
(Saros 136)

August 25, 2128
(Saros 137)

August 5, 2157
(Saros 138)

July 16, 2186
(Saros 139)

Notes

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  1. ^ "January 14, 1926 Total Solar Eclipse". timeanddate. Retrieved 3 August 2024.
  2. ^ "Moon Distances for London, United Kingdom, England". timeanddate. Retrieved 3 August 2024.
  3. ^ a b "Eclipse Brings Scientists Across World". Mount Vernon Argus. White Plains, New York. 1926-01-15. p. 25. Retrieved 2023-10-17 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ a b c d "Hopeful reports from scientists on sun's eclipse". The Butte Daily Post. Butte, Montana. 1926-01-15. p. 6. Retrieved 2023-10-17 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ a b c "50 Astronomers Watch Eclipse with Mixed Results". The Evening News. Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. 1926-01-15. p. 1. Retrieved 2023-10-17 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ a b c d "Astronomers view eclipse of the sun". Blackwell Journal-Tribune. Blackwell, Oklahoma. 1926-01-15. p. 1. Retrieved 2023-10-17 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ a b c "Einstein Solution By Eclipse Fails". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. 1926-01-15. p. 7. Retrieved 2023-10-17 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ^ "Total Solar Eclipse of 1926 Jan 14". EclipseWise.com. Retrieved 3 August 2024.
  9. ^ 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.
  10. ^ "NASA - Catalog of Solar Eclipses of Saros 130". eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov.

References

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