An annular solar eclipse occurred at the Moon's ascending node of orbit on Saturday, December 25, 1954 (also known as "The Christmas 1954 solar eclipse"), with a magnitude of 0.9323. It was the first solar eclipse to fall on Christmas since 1935, and the last until 2000. 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. An annular solar eclipse occurs when the Moon's apparent diameter is smaller than the Sun's, blocking most of the Sun's light and causing the Sun to look like an annulus (ring). An annular eclipse appears as a partial eclipse over a region of the Earth thousands of kilometers wide. Occurring about 4.9 days after apogee (on December 21, 1954, at 8:50 UTC), the Moon's apparent diameter was smaller.
Annularity was visible from the southwestern tip of South West Africa (Now Namibia), Union of South Africa (Now South Africa), Ashmore and Cartier Islands except Cartier Island, Indonesia and Portuguese Timor (Now East Timor). A partial eclipse was visible for parts of Southern Africa, Antarctica, Southeast Asia, and Australia.
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.
+December 25, 1954 Solar Eclipse Times Event Time (UTC) First Penumbral External Contact 1954 December 25 at 04:35:22.0 UTC First Umbral External Contact 1954 December 25 at 05:40:42.2 UTC First Central Line 1954 December 25 at 05:43:40.3 UTC First Umbral Internal Contact 1954 December 25 at 05:46:38.6 UTC First Penumbral Internal Contact 1954 December 25 at 06:56:43.3 UTC Greatest Duration 1954 December 25 at 07:29:49.2 UTC Equatorial Conjunction 1954 December 25 at 07:32:58.2 UTC Ecliptic Conjunction 1954 December 25 at 07:33:39.3 UTC Greatest Eclipse 1954 December 25 at 07:36:42.4 UTC Last Penumbral Internal Contact 1954 December 25 at 08:16:48.3 UTC Last Umbral Internal Contact 1954 December 25 at 09:26:50.4 UTC Last Central Line 1954 December 25 at 09:29:46.5 UTC Last Umbral External Contact 1954 December 25 at 09:32:42.2 UTC Last Penumbral External Contact 1954 December 25 at 10:37:59.4 UTC
+December 25, 1954 Solar Eclipse Parameters Parameter Value Eclipse Magnitude 0.93233 Eclipse Obscuration 0.86925 Gamma −0.25762 Sun Right Ascension 18h12m59.7s Sun Declination -23°24'41.6" Sun Semi-Diameter 16'15.7" Sun Equatorial Horizontal Parallax 08.9" Moon Right Ascension 18h13m07.2s Moon Declination -23°38'40.4" Moon Semi-Diameter 14'56.4" Moon Equatorial Horizontal Parallax 0°54'49.7" ΔT 31.1 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 December 1954–January 1955 December 25Ascending node (new moon) January 8Descending node (full moon) Annular solar eclipseSolar Saros 131 Penumbral lunar eclipseLunar Saros 143
Related eclipses Eclipses in 1954 An annular solar eclipse on January 5. A total lunar eclipse on January 19. A total solar eclipse on June 30. A partial lunar eclipse on July 16. An annular solar eclipse on December 25.
Metonic Preceded by: Solar eclipse of March 7, 1951 Followed by: Solar eclipse of October 12, 1958
Tzolkinex Preceded by: Solar eclipse of November 12, 1947 Followed by: Solar eclipse of February 5, 1962
Half-Saros Preceded by: Lunar eclipse of December 19, 1945 Followed by: Lunar eclipse of December 30, 1963
Tritos Preceded by: Solar eclipse of January 25, 1944 Followed by: Solar eclipse of November 23, 1965
Solar Saros 131 Preceded by: Solar eclipse of December 13, 1936 Followed by: Solar eclipse of January 4, 1973
Inex Preceded by: Solar eclipse of January 14, 1926 Followed by: Solar eclipse of December 4, 1983
Triad Preceded by: Solar eclipse of February 23, 1868 Followed by: Solar eclipse of October 25, 2041
Solar eclipses of 1953–1956
Saros 131
Metonic series
Tritos series
Inex series
References Notes
Sources