A partial solar eclipse occurred at the Moon's descending node of orbit on Sunday, December 12, 1909,[1][2][3] with a magnitude of 0.5424. 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 partial solar eclipse occurs in the polar regions of the Earth when the center of the Moon's shadow misses the Earth.
| Solar eclipse of December 12, 1909 | |
|---|---|
 Map | |
| Type of eclipse | |
| Nature | Partial |
| Gamma | −1.2456 |
| Magnitude | 0.5424 |
| Maximum eclipse | |
| Coordinates | 65°S 86°E / 65°S 86°E |
| Times (UTC) | |
| Greatest eclipse | 19:44:48 |
| References | |
| Saros | 150 (11 of 71) |
| Catalog # (SE5000) | 9303 |
This event was visible as a partial solar eclipse across Antarctica and New Zealand.
Eclipse details
editShown 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.[4]
| Event | Time (UTC) |
|---|---|
| First Penumbral External Contact | 1909 December 12 at 17:56:19.6 UTC |
| Greatest Eclipse | 1909 December 12 at 19:44:48.1 UTC |
| Ecliptic Conjunction | 1909 December 12 at 19:58:40.0 UTC |
| Equatorial Conjunction | 1909 December 12 at 20:09:23.5 UTC |
| Last Penumbral External Contact | 1909 December 12 at 21:33:01.1 UTC |
| Parameter | Value |
|---|---|
| Eclipse Magnitude | 0.54243 |
| Eclipse Obscuration | 0.42921 |
| Gamma | –1.24559 |
| Sun Right Ascension | 17h17m14.6s |
| Sun Declination | -23°05'16.7" |
| Sun Semi-Diameter | 16'14.8" |
| Sun Equatorial Horizontal Parallax | 08.9" |
| Moon Right Ascension | 17h16m22.9s |
| Moon Declination | -24°13'34.7" |
| Moon Semi-Diameter | 15'12.2" |
| Moon Equatorial Horizontal Parallax | 0°55'47.8" |
| ΔT | 10.4 s |
Eclipse season
editThis 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.
| November 27 Ascending node (full moon) |
December 12 Descending node (new moon) |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Penumbral lunar eclipse Lunar Saros 124 |
Annular solar eclipse Solar Saros 150 |
Related eclipses
editEclipses in 1909
edit- A total lunar eclipse on June 4.
- A hybrid solar eclipse on June 17.
- A total lunar eclipse on November 27.
- A partial solar eclipse on December 12.
Metonic
edit- Preceded by: Solar eclipse of February 23, 1906
- Followed by: Solar eclipse of September 30, 1913
Tzolkinex
edit- Preceded by: Solar eclipse of October 31, 1902
- Followed by: Solar eclipse of January 23, 1917
Half-Saros
edit- Preceded by: Lunar eclipse of December 6, 1900
- Followed by: Lunar eclipse of December 17, 1918
Tritos
edit- Preceded by: Solar eclipse of January 11, 1899
- Followed by: Solar eclipse of November 10, 1920
Solar Saros 150
edit- Preceded by: Solar eclipse of December 1, 1891
- Followed by: Solar eclipse of December 24, 1927
Inex
edit- Preceded by: Solar eclipse of December 31, 1880
- Followed by: Solar eclipse of November 21, 1938
Triad
edit- Preceded by: Solar eclipse of February 11, 1823
- Followed by: Solar eclipse of October 12, 1996
Solar eclipses of 1906–1909
editThis eclipse is a member of a semester series. An eclipse in a semester series of solar eclipses repeats approximately every 177 days and 4 hours (a semester) at alternating nodes of the Moon's orbit.[5]
The partial solar eclipses on February 23, 1906 and August 20, 1906 occur in the previous lunar year eclipse set.
| Solar eclipse series sets from 1906 to 1909 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ascending node | Descending node | |||||
| Saros | Map | Gamma | Saros | Map | Gamma | |
| 115 | July 21, 1906 Partial |
−1.3637 | 120 | January 14, 1907 Total |
0.8628 | |
| 125 | July 10, 1907 Annular |
−0.6313 | 130 | January 3, 1908 Total |
0.1934 | |
| 135 | June 28, 1908 Annular |
0.1389 | 140 | December 23, 1908 Hybrid |
−0.4985 | |
| 145 | June 17, 1909 Hybrid |
0.8957 | 150 | December 12, 1909 Partial |
−1.2456 | |
Saros 150
editThis eclipse is a part of Saros series 150, repeating every 18 years, 11 days, and containing 71 events. The series started with a partial solar eclipse on August 24, 1729. It contains annular eclipses from April 22, 2126 through June 22, 2829. There are no hybrid or total eclipses in this set. The series ends at member 71 as a partial eclipse on September 29, 2991. Its eclipses are tabulated in three columns; every third eclipse in the same column is one exeligmos apart, so they all cast shadows over approximately the same parts of the Earth.
The longest duration of annularity will be produced by member 45 at 9 minutes, 58 seconds on December 19, 2522. All eclipses in this series occur at the Moon’s descending node of orbit.[6]
| Series members 5–27 occur between 1801 and 2200: | ||
|---|---|---|
| 5 | 6 | 7 |
 October 7, 1801 |
 October 19, 1819 |
 October 29, 1837 |
| 8 | 9 | 10 |
 November 9, 1855 |
 November 20, 1873 |
 December 1, 1891 |
| 11 | 12 | 13 |
| December 12, 1909 |
 December 24, 1927 |
 January 3, 1946 |
| 14 | 15 | 16 |
 January 14, 1964 |
 January 25, 1982 |
 February 5, 2000 |
| 17 | 18 | 19 |
 February 15, 2018 |
 February 27, 2036 |
 March 9, 2054 |
| 20 | 21 | 22 |
 March 19, 2072 |
 March 31, 2090 |
 April 11, 2108 |
| 23 | 24 | 25 |
 April 22, 2126 |
 May 3, 2144 |
 May 14, 2162 |
| 26 | 27 | |
 May 24, 2180 |
 June 4, 2198 | |
Metonic series
editThe metonic series repeats eclipses every 19 years (6939.69 days), lasting about 5 cycles. Eclipses occur in nearly the same calendar date. In addition, the octon subseries repeats 1/5 of that or every 3.8 years (1387.94 days). All eclipses in this table occur at the Moon's descending node.
| 22 eclipse events between February 23, 1830 and July 19, 1917 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| February 22–23 | December 11–12 | September 29–30 | July 18–19 | May 6–7 |
| 108 | 110 | 112 | 114 | 116 |
 February 23, 1830 |
 July 18, 1841 |
 May 6, 1845 | ||
| 118 | 120 | 122 | 124 | 126 |
 February 23, 1849 |
 December 11, 1852 |
 September 29, 1856 |
 July 18, 1860 |
 May 6, 1864 |
| 128 | 130 | 132 | 134 | 136 |
 February 23, 1868 |
 December 12, 1871 |
 September 29, 1875 |
 July 19, 1879 |
 May 6, 1883 |
| 138 | 140 | 142 | 144 | 146 |
 February 22, 1887 |
 December 12, 1890 |
 September 29, 1894 |
 July 18, 1898 |
 May 7, 1902 |
| 148 | 150 | 152 | 154 | |
 February 23, 1906 |
December 12, 1909 |
 September 30, 1913 |
 July 19, 1917 | |
Tritos series
editThis eclipse is a part of a tritos cycle, repeating at alternating nodes every 135 synodic months (≈ 3986.63 days, or 11 years minus 1 month). Their appearance and longitude are irregular due to a lack of synchronization with the anomalistic month (period of perigee), but groupings of 3 tritos cycles (≈ 33 years minus 3 months) come close (≈ 434.044 anomalistic months), so eclipses are similar in these groupings.
| Series members between 1801 and 1964 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 September 17, 1811 (Saros 141) |
 August 16, 1822 (Saros 142) |
 July 17, 1833 (Saros 143) |
 June 16, 1844 (Saros 144) |
 May 16, 1855 (Saros 145) |
 April 15, 1866 (Saros 146) |
 March 15, 1877 (Saros 147) |
 February 11, 1888 (Saros 148) |
 January 11, 1899 (Saros 149) |
December 12, 1909 (Saros 150) |
 November 10, 1920 (Saros 151) |
 October 11, 1931 (Saros 152) |
 September 10, 1942 (Saros 153) |
 August 9, 1953 (Saros 154) |
 July 9, 1964 (Saros 155) |
Inex series
editThis eclipse is a part of the long period inex cycle, repeating at alternating nodes, every 358 synodic months (≈ 10,571.95 days, or 29 years minus 20 days). Their appearance and longitude are irregular due to a lack of synchronization with the anomalistic month (period of perigee). However, groupings of 3 inex cycles (≈ 87 years minus 2 months) comes close (≈ 1,151.02 anomalistic months), so eclipses are similar in these groupings.
| Series members between 1801 and 2200 | ||
|---|---|---|
 February 11, 1823 (Saros 147) |
 January 21, 1852 (Saros 148) |
 December 31, 1880 (Saros 149) |
| December 12, 1909 (Saros 150) |
 November 21, 1938 (Saros 151) |
 November 2, 1967 (Saros 152) |
 October 12, 1996 (Saros 153) |
 September 21, 2025 (Saros 154) |
 September 2, 2054 (Saros 155) |
 August 13, 2083 (Saros 156) |
 July 23, 2112 (Saros 157) |
 July 3, 2141 (Saros 158) |
 June 14, 2170 (Saros 159) |
 May 24, 2199 (Saros 160) |
|
References
edit- ^ "December 12, 1909 Partial Solar Eclipse". timeanddate. Retrieved 31 July 2024.
- ^ "Partial eclipse of the sun". Columbia Missourian. Columbia, Missouri. 1909-12-13. p. 1. Retrieved 2023-11-01 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Eclipse of the Sun". Whittier Daily News. Whittier, California. 1909-12-13. p. 2. Retrieved 2023-11-01 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Partial Solar Eclipse of 1909 Dec 12". EclipseWise.com. Retrieved 31 July 2024.
- ^ van Gent, R.H. "Solar- and Lunar-Eclipse Predictions from Antiquity to the Present". A Catalogue of Eclipse Cycles. Utrecht University. Retrieved 6 October 2018.
- ^ "NASA - Catalog of Solar Eclipses of Saros 150". eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov.
External links
edit- Earth visibility chart and eclipse statistics Eclipse Predictions by Fred Espenak, NASA/GSFC
