Solar eclipse of September 20, 1960
PreviousSolar eclipse of March 27, 1960
NextSolar eclipse of February 15, 1961

A partial solar eclipse occurred at the Moon's ascending node of orbit between Tuesday, September 20 and Wednesday, September 21, 1960,[1] with a magnitude of 0.6139. 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.

A partial eclipse was visible for parts of the eastern Soviet Union on September 21 and Alaska, Canada, the United States, and northern Mexico on September 20.

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.[2]

September 20, 1960 Solar Eclipse Times
EventTime (UTC)
First Penumbral External Contact1960 September 20 at 21:09:33.3 UTC
Equatorial Conjunction1960 September 20 at 22:16:00.6 UTC
Greatest Eclipse1960 September 20 at 22:59:55.7 UTC
Ecliptic Conjunction1960 September 20 at 23:13:03.1 UTC
Last Penumbral External Contact1960 September 21 at 00:50:33.6 UTC
September 20, 1960 Solar Eclipse Parameters
ParameterValue
Eclipse Magnitude0.61389
Eclipse Obscuration0.51513
Gamma1.20565
Sun Right Ascension11h52m31.1s
Sun Declination+00°48'39.5"
Sun Semi-Diameter15'55.9"
Sun Equatorial Horizontal Parallax08.8"
Moon Right Ascension11h53m54.7s
Moon Declination+01°53'18.2"
Moon Semi-Diameter15'23.6"
Moon Equatorial Horizontal Parallax0°56'29.8"
ΔT33.5 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 September 1960
September 5
Descending node (full moon)
September 20
Ascending node (new moon)
Total lunar eclipse
Lunar Saros 127
Partial solar eclipse
Solar Saros 153

Eclipses in 1960

Metonic

Tzolkinex

Half-Saros

Tritos

Solar Saros 153

Inex

Triad

References

  1. ^ "September 20–21, 1960 Partial Solar Eclipse". timeanddate. Retrieved 6 August 2024.
  2. ^ "Partial Solar Eclipse of 1960 Sep 20". EclipseWise.com. Retrieved 6 August 2024.
  • Eclipse of the Sun of September 20, 1960—Sky and Telescope magazine, volume 20, page 129.