Solar eclipse of December 24, 1973

An annular solar eclipse occurred on December 24, 1973. 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 southern Mexico, southwestern Nicaragua, Costa Rica including the capital city San José, Panama, Colombia including the capital city Bogotá, southern Venezuela, Brazil, southern Guyana, southern Dutch Guiana (today's Suriname), southern French Guiana, Portuguese Cape Verde (today's Cape Verde) including the capital city Praia, Mauritania including the capital city Nouakchott, Spanish Sahara (today's Western Sahara), Mali, and Algeria.

Solar eclipse of December 24, 1973
Map
Type of eclipse
NatureAnnular
Gamma0.4171
Magnitude0.9174
Maximum eclipse
Duration722 sec (12 m 2 s)
Coordinates1.1°N 48.5°W / 1.1; -48.5
Max. width of band345 km (214 mi)
Times (UTC)
Greatest eclipse15:02:44
References
Saros141 (21 of 70)
Catalog # (SE5000)9451

The duration of annularity at maximum eclipse (closest to but slightly shorter than the longest duration) was 12 minutes, 2.37 seconds in the Atlantic Ocean near the Brazilian coast. It was the longest annular solar eclipse until January 14, 3080, but the Solar eclipse of December 14, 1955 lasted longer.[1]

Eclipses in 1973

Solar eclipses of 1971–1974

This 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.[2]

Note: Partial solar eclipses on February 25, 1971 and August 20, 1971 occur in the next lunar year set.

Solar eclipse series sets from 1971–1974
Descending node   Ascending node
SarosMapGamma SarosMapGamma
116
1971 July 22
Partial		1.51298 121
1972 January 16
Annular		−0.93651
126
1972 July 10
Total		0.68719 131
1973 January 4
Annular		−0.26441
136
1973 June 30
Total		−0.07853 141
1973 December 24
Annular		0.41710
146
1974 June 20
Total		−0.82388 151
1974 December 13
Partial		1.07974

Saros 141

Solar saros 141, repeating every about 18 years, 11 days, and 8 hours, contains 70 events. The series started with partial solar eclipse on May 19, 1613. It contains 41 annular eclipses from August 4, 1739, to October 14, 2460. There are no total eclipses in this series. The series ends at member 70 as a partial eclipse on June 13, 2857. The longest annular eclipse occurred on December 14, 1955, with maximum duration of annularity at 12 minutes and 9 seconds. All eclipses in this series occur at the Moon’s ascending node.[3]

Series members 17–36 occur between 1901 and 2259
17 18 19

November 11, 1901
November 22, 1919
December 2, 1937
20 21 22

December 14, 1955
December 24, 1973
January 4, 1992
23 24 25

January 15, 2010
January 26, 2028
February 5, 2046
26 27 28

February 17, 2064
February 27, 2082
March 10, 2100
29 30 31

March 22, 2118
April 1, 2136
April 12, 2154
32 33 34

April 23, 2172
May 4, 2190
May 15, 2208
35 36

May 27, 2226
June 6, 2244

Metonic series

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
  1. "Annular Solar Eclipses with Durations Exceeding 11m 00s: -3999 to 6000". NASA Eclipse Web Site.
  2. 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.
  3. Saros Series Catalog of Solar Eclipses NASA Eclipse Web Site.

References
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