A total solar eclipse occurred at the Moon's descending node of orbit on Monday, November 1, 1948, with a magnitude of 1.0231. 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 2.4 days after perigee (on October 29, 1948, at 21:20 UTC), the Moon's apparent diameter was larger.
Totality was visible from Belgian Congo (today's DR Congo), Uganda Protectorate (today's Uganda) including the capital city Kampala, British Kenya (today's Kenya) including the capital city Nairobi, British Seychelles (today's Seychelles), and British Mauritius (today's Mauritius). A partial eclipse was visible for parts of East Africa, Southern Africa, Antarctica, and Australia.
During this eclipse, comet C/1948 V1, also known as the Eclipse Comet of 1948, was discovered shining near the Sun.
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.
+November 1, 1948 Solar Eclipse Times Event Time (UTC) First Penumbral External Contact 1948 November 01 at 03:19:27.1 UTC First Umbral External Contact 1948 November 01 at 04:19:32.4 UTC First Central Line 1948 November 01 at 04:19:46.0 UTC First Umbral Internal Contact 1948 November 01 at 04:19:59.5 UTC First Penumbral Internal Contact 1948 November 01 at 05:28:35.7 UTC Greatest Eclipse 1948 November 01 at 05:59:17.9 UTC Greatest Duration 1948 November 01 at 06:00:10.8 UTC Ecliptic Conjunction 1948 November 01 at 06:03:01.1 UTC Equatorial Conjunction 1948 November 01 at 06:16:14.5 UTC Last Penumbral Internal Contact 1948 November 01 at 06:29:35.7 UTC Last Umbral Internal Contact 1948 November 01 at 07:38:28.6 UTC Last Central Line 1948 November 01 at 07:38:39.8 UTC Last Umbral External Contact 1948 November 01 at 07:38:51.1 UTC Last Penumbral External Contact 1948 November 01 at 08:39:07.0 UTC
+November 1, 1948 Solar Eclipse Parameters Parameter Value Eclipse Magnitude 1.02312 Eclipse Obscuration 1.04677 Gamma −0.35172 Sun Right Ascension 14h25m22.0s Sun Declination -14°24'53.4" Sun Semi-Diameter 16'07.1" Sun Equatorial Horizontal Parallax 08.9" Moon Right Ascension 14h24m46.3s Moon Declination -14°43'55.8" Moon Semi-Diameter 16'14.2" Moon Equatorial Horizontal Parallax 0°59'35.3" ΔT 28.6 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 October–November 1948 October 18Ascending node (full moon) November 1Descending node (new moon) Penumbral lunar eclipseLunar Saros 116 Total solar eclipseSolar Saros 142
Related eclipses Eclipses in 1948 A partial lunar eclipse on April 23. An annular solar eclipse on May 9. A penumbral lunar eclipse on October 18. A total solar eclipse on November 1.
Metonic Preceded by: Solar eclipse of January 14, 1945 Followed by: Solar eclipse of August 20, 1952
Tzolkinex Preceded by: Solar eclipse of September 21, 1941 Followed by: Solar eclipse of December 14, 1955
Half-Saros Preceded by: Lunar eclipse of October 28, 1939 Followed by: Lunar eclipse of November 7, 1957
Tritos Preceded by: Solar eclipse of December 2, 1937 Followed by: Solar eclipse of October 2, 1959
Solar Saros 142 Preceded by: Solar eclipse of October 21, 1930 Followed by: Solar eclipse of November 12, 1966
Inex Preceded by: Solar eclipse of November 22, 1919 Followed by: Solar eclipse of October 12, 1977
Triad Preceded by: Solar eclipse of December 31, 1861 Followed by: Solar eclipse of September 2, 2035
Solar eclipses of 1946–1949
Saros 142
Metonic series
Tritos series
Inex series
Notes
References