Solar eclipse of January 3, 1927
PreviousSolar eclipse of July 9, 1926
NextSolar eclipse of June 29, 1927

An annular solar eclipse occurred at the Moon's descending node of orbit between Monday, January 3 and Tuesday, January 4, 1927,[1] with a magnitude of 0.9995. 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. The Moon's apparent diameter was near the average diameter because it occurred 8.6 days after apogee (on December 26, 1926, at 7:10 UTC) and 3.3 days before perigee (on January 7, 1927, at 3:00 UTC).[2]

Annularity was visible from New Zealand on January 4 (Tuesday), and Chile, Argentina, Uruguay and southern Brazil on January 3 (Monday). A partial eclipse was visible for parts of Oceania, Antarctica, and South America.

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.[3]

January 3, 1927 Solar Eclipse Times
EventTime (UTC)
First Penumbral External Contact1927 January 3 at 17:44:12.4 UTC
First Umbral External Contact1927 January 3 at 18:48:36.9 UTC
First Central Line1927 January 3 at 18:49:09.7 UTC
Greatest Duration1927 January 3 at 18:49:09.7 UTC
First Umbral Internal Contact1927 January 3 at 18:49:42.5 UTC
Greatest Eclipse1927 January 3 at 20:22:53.1 UTC
Equatorial Conjunction1927 January 3 at 20:23:09.7 UTC
Ecliptic Conjunction1927 January 3 at 20:28:11.0 UTC
Last Umbral Internal Contact1927 January 3 at 21:56:05.6 UTC
Last Central Line1927 January 3 at 21:56:35.8 UTC
Last Umbral External Contact1927 January 3 at 21:57:05.9 UTC
Last Penumbral External Contact1927 January 3 at 23:01:27.9 UTC
January 3, 1927 Solar Eclipse Parameters
ParameterValue
Eclipse Magnitude0.99947
Eclipse Obscuration0.99894
Gamma−0.49559
Sun Right Ascension18h54m14.6s
Sun Declination-22°51'45.8"
Sun Semi-Diameter16'15.9"
Sun Equatorial Horizontal Parallax08.9"
Moon Right Ascension18h54m13.9s
Moon Declination-23°20'50.4"
Moon Semi-Diameter16'01.7"
Moon Equatorial Horizontal Parallax0°58'49.4"
ΔT24.5 s

Eclipse season

See also: Eclipse cycle

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 December 1926–January 1927
December 19
Ascending node (full moon)		January 3
Descending node (new moon)
Penumbral lunar eclipse
Lunar Saros 114		Annular solar eclipse
Solar Saros 140

Eclipses in 1927

Metonic

Tzolkinex

Half-Saros

Tritos

Solar Saros 140

Inex

Triad

Notes

  1. ^ "January 3, 1927 Annular Solar Eclipse". timeanddate. Retrieved 3 August 2024.
  2. ^ "Moon Distances for London, United Kingdom, England". timeanddate. Retrieved 3 August 2024.
  3. ^ "Annular Solar Eclipse of 1927 Jan 03". EclipseWise.com. Retrieved 3 August 2024.