Solar eclipse of May 20, 1966
Solar eclipse of May 20, 1966 | |
---|---|
Type of eclipse | |
Nature | Annular |
Gamma | 0.3467 |
Magnitude | 0.9991 |
Maximum eclipse | |
Duration | 5 s (0 min 5 s) |
Coordinates | 39°12′N 26°24′E / 39.2°N 26.4°E |
Max. width of band | 3 km (1.9 mi) |
Times (UTC) | |
Greatest eclipse | 9:39:02 |
References | |
Saros | 137 (33 of 70) |
Catalog # (SE5000) | 9434 |
An annular solar eclipse occurred on May 20, 1966. 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. Annularity was visible from Guinea (including the capital city Conakry), Mali, Algeria, Libya, Greece, Turkey, the Soviet Union (today's Russia and Kazakhstan) and China. The Sun's altitude was 70°.
Observations[edit]
During this eclipse, the apex of the moon's umbral cone was very close to the Earth's surface, and the magnitude was very large. The edges of the moon and the sun were very close to each other as seen from the Earth. Baily's beads on the lunar limb, which are usually only visible during a total solar eclipse, could also be seen. Therefore this eclipse was also an excellent opportunity to measure the size and shape of the Earth, as well as the mountains and valleys on the lunar limb. Many scientists observed the annular eclipse in Greece and Turkey, which are close to the location of maximum eclipse and have better observation conditions. The observation sites in Greece were mainly concentrated in Saronida and Anavyssos south of Athens, while those in Turkey were mainly concentrated in Ayvalik, across the sea facing the Greek island Lesbos.[1]
Similar to the Baily's beads, the corona is generally only visible in a total solar eclipse. Because the magnitude of this annular eclipse was close to 1, some predicted that the corona would be visible. An observation team went to Lesbos Island but only saw the Baily's beads, not the corona.[2]
Prior to it, the two hybrid solar eclipses of April 17, 1912 and April 28, 1930, and another annular solar eclipse of May 9, 1948 also belonging to Solar Saros 137, also occurred with a magnitude close to 1. Observations were made near Paris in France, Camptonville, California and Rebun Island in Japan respectively.[1]
Related eclipses[edit]
Solar eclipses of 1964–1967[edit]
This eclipse is a member of a 1964–1967 series at alternating nodes every 6 synodic months.
Note: Partial solar eclipses on January 14, 1964 and July 9, 1964 belong to the previous lunar year set.
Solar eclipse series sets from 1964 to 1967 | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Ascending node | Descending node | |||||
Saros | Map | Gamma | Saros | Map | Gamma | |
117 | 1964 June 10 Partial |
−1.13926 | 122 | 1964 December 04 Partial |
1.11929 | |
127 | 1965 May 30 Total |
−0.42251 | 132 | 1965 November 23 Annular |
0.39061 | |
137 | 1966 May 20 Annular |
0.34672 | 142 | 1966 November 12 Total |
−0.33001 | |
147 | 1967 May 09 Partial |
1.14218 | 152 | 1967 November 02 Total (non-central) |
−1.00067 |
Saros 137[edit]
It is a part of Saros cycle 137, repeating every 18 years, 11 days, containing 70 events. The series started with partial solar eclipse on May 25, 1389. It contains total eclipses from August 20, 1533 through December 6, 1695, first set of hybrid eclipses from December 17, 1713 through February 11, 1804, first set of annular eclipses from February 21, 1822 through March 25, 1876, second set of hybrid eclipses from April 6, 1894 through April 28, 1930, and second set of annular eclipses from May 9, 1948 through April 13, 2507. The series ends at member 70 as a partial eclipse on June 28, 2633. The longest duration of totality was 2 minutes, 55 seconds on September 10, 1569. Solar Saros 137 has 55 umbral eclipses from August 20, 1533 through April 13, 2507 (973.62 years).
Series members 30–40 occur between 1901 and 2100: | ||
---|---|---|
30 | 31 | 32 |
April 17, 1912 |
April 28, 1930 |
May 9, 1948 |
33 | 34 | 35 |
May 20, 1966 |
May 30, 1984 |
June 10, 2002 |
36 | 37 | 38 |
June 21, 2020 |
July 2, 2038 |
July 12, 2056 |
39 | 40 | |
July 24, 2074 |
August 3, 2092 |
Metonic series[edit]
The 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 ascending node.
22 eclipse events between December 24, 1916 and July 31, 2000 | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
December 24–25 | October 12–13 | July 31-Aug 1 | May 18–20 | March 7–8 |
91 | 93 | 95 | 97 | 99 |
December 23, 1878 | October 12, 1882 | July 31, 1886 | May 18, 1890 | March 7, 1894 |
101 | 103 | 105 | 107 | 109 |
December 23, 1897 | October 12, 1901 | August 1, 1905 | May 19, 1909 | March 8, 1913 |
111 | 113 | 115 | 117 | 119 |
December 24, 1916 |
October 12, 1920 | July 31, 1924 |
May 19, 1928 |
March 7, 1932 |
121 | 123 | 125 | 127 | 129 |
December 25, 1935 |
October 12, 1939 |
August 1, 1943 |
May 20, 1947 |
March 7, 1951 |
131 | 133 | 135 | 137 | 139 |
December 25, 1954 |
October 12, 1958 |
July 31, 1962 |
May 20, 1966 |
March 7, 1970 |
141 | 143 | 145 | 147 | 149 |
December 24, 1973 |
October 12, 1977 |
July 31, 1981 |
May 19, 1985 |
March 7, 1989 |
151 | 153 | 155 | 157 | 159 |
December 24, 1992 |
October 12, 1996 |
July 31, 2000 |
May 19, 2004 | March 7, 2008 |
161 | 163 | 165 | 167 | 169 |
December 24, 2011 | October 13, 2015 | August 1, 2019 | May 19, 2023 | March 8, 2027 |
Notes[edit]
- ^ a b Xavier M. Jubier. "Eclipse annulaire de Soleil du 20 mai 1966 depuis la Grèce ou la Turquie (Annular Solar Eclipse of 1966 May 20 in Greece or Turkey)". Archived from the original on 22 January 2020.
- ^ Hunt, H. C. (May 1966). "Solar eclipse report 1966 May 20" (PDF). The Astronomer. 3: B11–B12.
References[edit]
- Earth visibility chart and eclipse statistics Eclipse Predictions by Fred Espenak, NASA/GSFC