| Solar eclipse of October 2, 1959 | |
|---|---|
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Map
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|
| Type of eclipse | |
| Nature | Total |
| Gamma | 0.4207 |
| Magnitude | 1.0325 |
| Maximum eclipse | |
| Duration | 3m 2s |
| Coordinates | 20.4N 1.4W |
| Max. width of band | 120 km |
| Times (UTC) | |
| Greatest eclipse | 12:27:00 |
| References | |
| Saros | 143 (20 of 72) |
| Catalog # (SE5000) | 9419 |
A total solar eclipse occurred on October 2, 1959. A solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes between Earth and the Sun, thereby totally or partially 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, blocking all direct sunlight, turning day into darkness. Totality occurs in a narrow path across the surface of the Earth, while a partial solar eclipse will be visible over a region thousands of kilometres wide.
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Totality began over Boston, Massachusetts at sunrise. Viewing the eclipse was raining out, but it was reported that the brightening of the sky after the eclipse was a startling and impressive sight.[1] The next total eclipse over Boston, the solar eclipse of May 1, 2079, will also be a sunrise event.[2]
This set of solar eclipses repeat approximately every 177 days and 4 hours at alternating nodes of the moon's orbit.
| Ascending node | Descending node | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saros | Map | Saros | Map | |
| 118 | April 30, 1957 Annular |
123 | October 23, 1957 Total |
|
| 128 | April 19, 1958 Annular |
133 | October 12, 1958 Total |
|
| 138 | April 8, 1959 Annular |
143 | October 2, 1959 Total |
|
| 148 | March 27, 1960 Partial |
153 | September 20, 1960 Partial |
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It is a part of Saros cycle 143, repeating every 18 years, 11 days, containing 72 events. The series started with partial solar eclipse on March 7, 1617 and total event from June 24, 1797 through October 24, 1995. It has hybrid eclipses from November 3, 2013 through December 6, 2067, and annular eclipses from December 16, 2085 through September 16, 2536. The series ends at member 72 as a partial eclipse on April 23, 2873. The longest duration of totality was 3 minutes, 50 seconds on August 19, 1887.[3]
Series members 17-28 occur between 1901 and 2100:
| 17 | 18 | 19 |
|---|---|---|
August 30, 1905 |
September 10, 1923 |
September 21, 1941 |
| 20 | 21 | 22 |
October 2, 1959 |
October 12, 1977 |
October 24, 1995 |
| 23 | 24 | 25 |
November 3, 2013 |
November 14, 2031 |
November 25, 2049 |
| 26 | 27 | 28 |
December 6, 2067 |
December 16, 2085 |
