An annular solar eclipse occurred at the Moon's ascending node of orbit on Thursday, July 20, 1944, with a magnitude of 0.97. 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 kilometres wide. Occurring about 4.6 days before apogee (on July 24, 1944, at 19:20 UTC), the Moon's apparent diameter was smaller.
Annularity was visible from British Uganda (today's Uganda), Anglo-Egyptian Sudan (the part now belonging to South Sudan), British Kenya (today's Kenya), Ethiopia, British Somaliland (today's Somalia), British Raj (the part now belonging to India), Burma under Japanese occupation (today's Myanmar), Thailand, French Indochina (the parts now belonging to Laos and Vietnam), Philippines under Japanese occupation, South Seas Mandate in Japan (the part now belonging to Hatohobei, Palau) the Territory of New Guinea (now belonging to Papua New Guinea). A partial eclipse was visible for parts of East Africa, West Asia, Central Asia, South Asia, Southeast Asia, East 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.
+July 20, 1944 Solar Eclipse Times Event Time (UTC) First Penumbral External Contact 1944 July 20 at 02:43:03.9 UTC First Umbral External Contact 1944 July 20 at 03:46:12.4 UTC First Central Line 1944 July 20 at 03:47:41.2 UTC First Umbral Internal Contact 1944 July 20 at 03:49:10.0 UTC First Penumbral Internal Contact 1944 July 20 at 04:52:23.2 UTC Greatest Duration 1944 July 20 at 05:41:10.0 UTC Ecliptic Conjunction 1944 July 20 at 05:42:50.9 UTC Greatest Eclipse 1944 July 20 at 05:43:12.7 UTC Equatorial Conjunction 1944 July 20 at 05:43:33.9 UTC Last Penumbral Internal Contact 1944 July 20 at 06:34:00.8 UTC Last Umbral Internal Contact 1944 July 20 at 07:37:13.5 UTC Last Central Line 1944 July 20 at 07:38:44.7 UTC Last Umbral External Contact 1944 July 20 at 07:40:16.0 UTC Last Penumbral External Contact 1944 July 20 at 08:43:26.9 UTC
+July 20, 1944 Solar Eclipse Parameters Parameter Value Eclipse Magnitude 0.97004 Eclipse Obscuration 0.94098 Gamma −0.03135 Sun Right Ascension 07h57m43.1s Sun Declination +20°41'32.4" Sun Semi-Diameter 15'44.4" Sun Equatorial Horizontal Parallax 08.7" Moon Right Ascension 07h57m42.4s Moon Declination +20°39'49.3" Moon Semi-Diameter 15'02.1" Moon Equatorial Horizontal Parallax 0°55'10.8" ΔT 26.5 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. The first and last eclipse in this sequence is separated by one synodic month.
+ Eclipse season of July–August 1944 July 6Descending node (full moon) July 20Ascending node (new moon) August 4Descending node (full moon) Penumbral lunar eclipseLunar Saros 109 Annular solar eclipseSolar Saros 135 Penumbral lunar eclipseLunar Saros 147
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 October 1, 1940 Followed by: Solar eclipse of May 9, 1948
Tzolkinex Preceded by: Solar eclipse of June 8, 1937 Followed by: Solar eclipse of September 1, 1951
Half-Saros Preceded by: Lunar eclipse of July 16, 1935 Followed by: Lunar eclipse of July 26, 1953
Tritos Preceded by: Solar eclipse of August 21, 1933 Followed by: Solar eclipse of June 20, 1955
Solar Saros 135 Preceded by: Solar eclipse of July 9, 1926 Followed by: Solar eclipse of July 31, 1962
Inex Preceded by: Solar eclipse of August 10, 1915 Followed by: Solar eclipse of June 30, 1973
Triad Preceded by: Solar eclipse of September 18, 1857 Followed by: Solar eclipse of May 21, 2031
Solar eclipses of 1942–1946
Saros 135
Metonic series
Tritos series
Inex series
Notes
References