A total solar eclipse occurred at the Moon's descending node of orbit on Tuesday, January 25, 1944, with a magnitude of 1.0428. 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 20 hours before perigee (on January 26, 1944, at 11:30 UTC), the Moon's apparent diameter was larger.
Totality was visible from Peru, Brazil, British Sierra Leone (today's Sierra Leone), and French West Africa (the parts now belonging to Guinea, Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger, including Guinean capital Conakry). A partial eclipse was visible for parts of southern North America, Central America, the Caribbean, South America, Western Europe, West Africa, and Central Africa.
Observations The National Astronomical Observatory in Tacubaya, Mexico sent a team to Chiclayo, Peru. The weather was clear during the eclipse, and because totality occurred shortly after sunrise with a relatively low solar zenith angle, the boundary between the corona and the background of the sky was not so obvious. Most images were taken successfully except for one with the long focus camera.
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.
+January 25, 1944 Solar Eclipse Times Event Time (UTC) First Penumbral External Contact 1944 January 25 at 12:48:43.4 UTC First Umbral External Contact 1944 January 25 at 13:44:39.3 UTC First Central Line 1944 January 25 at 13:45:20.7 UTC First Umbral Internal Contact 1944 January 25 at 13:46:02.2 UTC First Penumbral Internal Contact 1944 January 25 at 14:43:56.2 UTC Ecliptic Conjunction 1944 January 25 at 15:24:37.3 UTC Greatest Duration 1944 January 25 at 15:25:00.3 UTC Greatest Eclipse 1944 January 25 at 15:26:42.2 UTC Equatorial Conjunction 1944 January 25 at 15:29:42.0 UTC Last Penumbral Internal Contact 1944 January 25 at 16:09:24.1 UTC Last Umbral Internal Contact 1944 January 25 at 17:07:18.8 UTC Last Central Line 1944 January 25 at 17:08:01.3 UTC Last Umbral External Contact 1944 January 25 at 17:08:43.9 UTC Last Penumbral External Contact 1944 January 25 at 18:04:37.4 UTC
+January 25, 1944 Solar Eclipse Parameters Parameter Value Eclipse Magnitude 1.04282 Eclipse Obscuration 1.08747 Gamma 0.20246 Sun Right Ascension 20h27m33.6s Sun Declination -19°07'44.1" Sun Semi-Diameter 16'14.7" Sun Equatorial Horizontal Parallax 08.9" Moon Right Ascension 20h27m26.2s Moon Declination -18°55'30.7" Moon Semi-Diameter 16'39.5" Moon Equatorial Horizontal Parallax 1°01'08.4" ΔT 26.3 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 January–February 1944 January 25Descending node (new moon) February 9Ascending node (full moon) Total solar eclipseSolar Saros 130 Penumbral lunar eclipseLunar Saros 142
Related eclipses Eclipses in 1944 A total solar eclipse on January 25. A penumbral lunar eclipse on February 9. A penumbral lunar eclipse on July 6. An annular solar eclipse on July 20. A penumbral lunar eclipse on August 4. A penumbral lunar eclipse on December 29.
Metonic Preceded by: Solar eclipse of April 7, 1940 Followed by: Solar eclipse of November 12, 1947
Tzolkinex Preceded by: Solar eclipse of December 13, 1936 Followed by: Solar eclipse of March 7, 1951
Half-Saros Preceded by: Lunar eclipse of January 19, 1935 Followed by: Lunar eclipse of January 29, 1953
Tritos Preceded by: Solar eclipse of February 24, 1933 Followed by: Solar eclipse of December 25, 1954
Solar Saros 130 Preceded by: Solar eclipse of January 14, 1926 Followed by: Solar eclipse of February 5, 1962
Inex Preceded by: Solar eclipse of February 14, 1915 Followed by: Solar eclipse of January 4, 1973
Triad Preceded by: Solar eclipse of March 25, 1857 Followed by: Solar eclipse of November 25, 2030
Solar eclipses of 1942–1946
Saros 130
Metonic series
Tritos series
Inex series
Notes
References