A total solar eclipse occurred at the Moon's ascending node of orbit on Friday, September 9, 1904, with a magnitude of 1.0709. 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 1.5 hours after perigee (on September 9, 1904, at 19:10 UTC), the Moon's apparent diameter was larger.
Totality was visible from German New Guinea (the part now belonging to Marshall Islands) on September 10 and Chile on September 9. A partial eclipse was visible for parts of Oceania and Western South America.
The event is mentioned in James Joyce's 1922 novel Ulysses.
Observations The National Astronomical Observatory of Chile established an observation station in Taltal, Antofagasta, but the eclipse was clouded out and could not be seen. In the capital city Santiago, a partial eclipse was seen just before sunset.
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.
+September 9, 1904 Solar Eclipse Times Event Time (UTC) First Penumbral External Contact 1904 September 9 at 18:07:46.2 UTC First Umbral External Contact 1904 September 9 at 19:01:33.0 UTC First Central Line 1904 September 9 at 19:02:57.8 UTC First Umbral Internal Contact 1904 September 9 at 19:04:22.7 UTC First Penumbral Internal Contact 1904 September 9 at 19:59:18.7 UTC Greatest Duration 1904 September 9 at 20:42:32.1 UTC Ecliptic Conjunction 1904 September 9 at 20:42:41.4 UTC Greatest Eclipse 1904 September 9 at 20:44:20.7 UTC Equatorial Conjunction 1904 September 9 at 20:49:31.5 UTC Last Penumbral Internal Contact 1904 September 9 at 21:29:14.6 UTC Last Umbral Internal Contact 1904 September 9 at 22:24:15.2 UTC Last Central Line 1904 September 9 at 22:25:39.9 UTC Last Umbral External Contact 1904 September 9 at 22:27:04.6 UTC Last Penumbral External Contact 1904 September 9 at 23:20:53.1 UTC
+September 9, 1904 Solar Eclipse Parameters Parameter Value Eclipse Magnitude 1.07094 Eclipse Obscuration 1.14691 Gamma −0.16252 Sun Right Ascension 11h11m04.6s Sun Declination +05°15'01.3" Sun Semi-Diameter 15'53.2" Sun Equatorial Horizontal Parallax 08.7" Moon Right Ascension 11h10m52.8s Moon Declination +05°05'30.9" Moon Semi-Diameter 16'43.6" Moon Equatorial Horizontal Parallax 1°01'23.4" ΔT 3.4 s
Eclipse season
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 September 1904 September 9Ascending node (new moon) September 24Descending node (full moon) Total solar eclipseSolar Saros 133 Penumbral lunar eclipseLunar Saros 145
Related eclipses Eclipses in 1904 A penumbral lunar eclipse on March 2. An annular solar eclipse on March 17. A penumbral lunar eclipse on March 31. A total solar eclipse on September 9. A penumbral lunar eclipse on September 24.
Metonic Preceded by: Solar eclipse of November 22, 1900 Followed by: Solar eclipse of June 28, 1908
Tzolkinex Preceded by: Solar eclipse of July 29, 1897 Followed by: Solar eclipse of October 22, 1911
Half-Saros Preceded by: Lunar eclipse of September 4, 1895 Followed by: Lunar eclipse of September 15, 1913
Tritos Preceded by: Solar eclipse of October 9, 1893 Followed by: Solar eclipse of August 10, 1915
Solar Saros 133 Preceded by: Solar eclipse of August 29, 1886 Followed by: Solar eclipse of September 21, 1922
Inex Preceded by: Solar eclipse of September 29, 1875 Followed by: Solar eclipse of August 21, 1933
Triad Preceded by: Solar eclipse of November 9, 1817 Followed by: Solar eclipse of July 11, 1991
Solar eclipses of 1902–1906
Saros 133
Metonic series
Tritos series
Inex series
Notes
References
Further reading