A total solar eclipse occurred at the Moon's descending node of orbit on Friday, July 8, 1842, with a magnitude of 1.0543. 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 days before perigee (on July 10, 1842, at 7:50 UTC), the Moon's apparent diameter was larger.
The path of totality was visible from parts of modern-day Portugal, Spain, Andorra, France, Monaco, Italy, Austria, Slovenia, Hungary, Slovakia, southeastern Poland, Ukraine, southeastern Belarus, Russia, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, China, the Ryukyu Islands, and the Northern Mariana Islands. A partial solar eclipse was also visible for parts of Europe, North Africa, Asia, Alaska, Greenland, and northern Canada.
Observations Francis Baily observed the total solar eclipse from Italy, focusing his attention on the solar corona and prominences and identified them as part of the Sun's atmosphere. The solar eclipse effect now called Baily's beads named in honor of him after his correct explanation of the phenomenon in 1836. Francis Baily
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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 8, 1842 Solar Eclipse Times Event Time (UTC) First Penumbral External Contact 1842 July 8 at 04:32:40.3 UTC First Umbral External Contact 1842 July 8 at 05:32:39.4 UTC First Central Line 1842 July 8 at 05:33:50.6 UTC First Umbral Internal Contact 1842 July 8 at 05:35:02.0 UTC Equatorial Conjunction 1842 July 8 at 06:55:35.2 UTC Ecliptic Conjunction 1842 July 8 at 07:01:31.8 UTC Greatest Duration 1842 July 8 at 07:04:59.2 UTC Greatest Eclipse 1842 July 8 at 07:06:26.9 UTC Last Umbral Internal Contact 1842 July 8 at 08:37:56.8 UTC Last Central Line 1842 July 8 at 08:39:10.0 UTC Last Umbral External Contact 1842 July 8 at 08:40:23.1 UTC Last Penumbral External Contact 1842 July 8 at 09:40:14.0 UTC
+July 8, 1842 Solar Eclipse Parameters Parameter Value Eclipse Magnitude 1.05427 Eclipse Obscuration 1.11149 Gamma 0.47266 Sun Right Ascension 07h07m53.4s Sun Declination +22°32'34.5" Sun Semi-Diameter 15'43.8" Sun Equatorial Horizontal Parallax 08.6" Moon Right Ascension 07h08m19.7s Moon Declination +23°00'12.1" Moon Semi-Diameter 16'20.6" Moon Equatorial Horizontal Parallax 0°59'58.8" ΔT 5.5 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.
+ Eclipse season of July 1842 July 8Descending node (new moon) July 22Ascending node (full moon) Total solar eclipseSolar Saros 124 Partial lunar eclipseLunar Saros 136
Related eclipses Eclipses in 1842 An annular solar eclipse on January 11. A partial lunar eclipse on January 26. A total solar eclipse on July 8. A partial lunar eclipse on July 22. A penumbral lunar eclipse on December 17. An annular solar eclipse on December 31.
Metonic Preceded by: Solar eclipse of September 18, 1838 Followed by: Solar eclipse of April 25, 1846
Tzolkinex Preceded by: Solar eclipse of May 27, 1835 Followed by: Solar eclipse of August 18, 1849
Half-Saros Preceded by: Lunar eclipse of July 2, 1833 Followed by: Lunar eclipse of July 13, 1851
Tritos Preceded by: Solar eclipse of August 7, 1831 Followed by: Solar eclipse of June 6, 1853
Solar Saros 124 Preceded by: Solar eclipse of June 26, 1824 Followed by: Solar eclipse of July 18, 1860
Inex Preceded by: Solar eclipse of July 27, 1813 Followed by: Solar eclipse of June 18, 1871
Triad Preceded by: Solar eclipse of September 6, 1755 Followed by: Solar eclipse of May 9, 1929
Solar eclipses of 1841–1844
The partial solar eclipses on February 21, 1841 and August 16, 1841 occur in the previous lunar year eclipse set, and the partial solar eclipse on November 10, 1844 occurs in the next lunar year eclipse set.
Solar eclipse series sets from 1841 to 1844 Ascending node Descending node Saros Map Gamma Saros Map Gamma 109 January 22, 1841Partial −1.5516 114 July 18, 1841Partial 1.1903 119 January 11, 1842Annular −0.8882 124 July 8, 1842Total 0.4727 129 December 31, 1842Annular −0.1727 134 June 27, 1843Hybrid −0.3037 139 December 21, 1843Total 0.5227 144 June 16, 1844Partial −1.1092 149 December 9, 1844Partial 1.1682
Saros 124
Metonic series All eclipses in this table occur at the Moon's ascending node.
25 eclipse events between February 12, 1812 and September 18, 1895February 11–12November 30–December 1September 17–19July 7–8April 25–26108110112114116February 12, 1812September 19, 1819July 8, 1823April 26, 1827118120122124126February 12, 1831November 30, 1834September 18, 1838July 8, 1842April 25, 1846128130132134136February 12, 1850November 30, 1853September 18, 1857July 8, 1861April 25, 1865138140142144146February 11, 1869November 30, 1872September 17, 1876July 7, 1880April 25, 1884148150152February 11, 1888December 1, 1891September 18, 1895
Tritos series
Inex series
References
NASA chart graphics Googlemap NASA Besselian elements Solar eclipse of July 8, 1842 in Russia Chronology of Discoveries about the Sun