Solar eclipse of December 22, 1889

Summary

A total solar eclipse occurred on December 22, 1889. 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 total solar eclipse occurs when the Moon's apparent diameter is larger than the Sun's, blocking all direct sunlight, turning day into darkness. Totality occurs in a narrow path across Earth's surface, with the partial solar eclipse visible over a surrounding region thousands of kilometres wide. It was visible from Cuba, to the coast of Brazil, and across southern Africa.

Solar eclipse of December 22, 1889
Map
Type of eclipse
NatureTotal
Gamma0.1888
Magnitude1.0449
Maximum eclipse
Duration258 s (4 min 18 s)
Coordinates12°42′S 12°48′W / 12.7°S 12.8°W / -12.7; -12.8
Max. width of band152 km (94 mi)
Times (UTC)
Greatest eclipse12:54:15
References
Saros130 (45 of 73)
Catalog # (SE5000)9257

The eclipse was the focus of a 242-day United States scientific expedition, roughly 70 miles south of Luanda.

Observations edit

The eclipse was the focus of a scientific expedition from the United States, led by David P. Todd of Amherst College and including a team of at least six. Among the members was E. J. Loomis from the American Ephemeris and Nautical Almanac office. It set sail October 16 on the USS Pensacola and set up the eclipse base camp in December, roughly 70 miles south of Luanda in Cape Ledo. Totality was completely obscured by cloud cover. The ship returned to New York after 242 days, with the expedition performing a variety of other scientific studies along the way.[1][2]

 
The 1889 solar eclipse was the last to be photographed by Stephen Joseph Perry.

Related eclipses edit

Saros 130 edit

This eclipse is a part of Saros cycle 130, repeating every 18 years, 11 days, containing 73 events. The series started with partial solar eclipse on August 20, 1096. It contains total eclipses from April 5, 1475 through July 18, 2232. There are no annular eclipses in the series. The series ends at member 73 as a partial eclipse on October 25, 2394. The longest duration of totality was 6 minutes, 41 seconds on July 11, 1619. All eclipses in this series occurs at the Moon’s descending node.[3]

Series members 43–56 between 1853 and 2300
43 44 45
 
November 30, 1853
 
December 12, 1871
 
December 22, 1889 46 47 48  
January 3, 1908
 
January 14, 1926
 
January 25, 1944
49 50 51
 
February 5, 1962
 
February 16, 1980
 
February 26, 1998
52 53 54
 
March 9, 2016
 
March 20, 2034
 
March 30, 2052
55 56 57
 
April 11, 2070
 
April 21, 2088
 
May 3, 2106
58 59 60
 
May 14, 2124
 
May 25, 2142
 
June 4, 2160
61 62 63
 
June 16, 2178
 
June 26, 2196
 
July 8, 2214
64 65 66
 
July 18, 2232
 
July 30, 2250
 
August 9, 2268
67
 
August 20, 2286

References edit

  1. ^ "United States Eclipse Expedition to West Africa (1889-1890)", Smithsonian Institution Archives, retrieved 2021-06-10.
  2. ^ Todd, David P. (May 1890), "The United States Scientific Expedition to West Africa, 1889", Nature, 42 (1070): 8–10, Bibcode:1890Natur..42R...8T, doi:10.1038/042008c0.
  3. ^ "Saros Series catalog of solar eclipses". NASA.
  • NASA graphic
    • Googlemap
    • NASA Besselian elements
  • Sketchs of Solar Corona December 22, 1889
  • Eclipse of December 21, 1889 (Cayenne). Contact print from the original glass negative. Lick Observatory Plate Archive, Mt. Hamilton.
  • On Board the Pensacola--The Eclipse Expedition to the West Coast of Africa by Albert Bergman (A Man Before the Mast), New York, 1890
  • Mabel Loomis Todd (1900). Total Eclipses of the Sun. Little, Brown.
  • Turner, H.H. (14 March 1890). "Report of the Eclipse Committee". Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. 50. Royal Astronomical Society: 265 et seq. Bibcode:1890MNRAS..50..265T. doi:10.1093/mnras/50.5.265.