Solar eclipse of October 24, 1995

Summary

A total solar eclipse occurred on October 24, 1995. 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. The path of totality went through Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, southwestern tip of Bangladesh, Burma, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, Spratly Islands, northeastern tip of Sabah of Malaysia, Philippines and Indonesia.

Solar eclipse of October 24, 1995
Corona during total solar eclipse by Fred Espenak from Dundlod, India
Map
Type of eclipse
NatureTotal
Gamma0.3518
Magnitude1.0213
Maximum eclipse
Duration130 s (2 min 10 s)
Coordinates8°24′N 113°12′E / 8.4°N 113.2°E / 8.4; 113.2
Max. width of band78 km (48 mi)
Times (UTC)
Greatest eclipse4:33:30
References
Saros143 (22 of 72)
Catalog # (SE5000)9498

Observation edit

India edit

An aerial observation of this eclipse was done over India,[1] when a MiG-25 reconnaissance aircraft of the Indian Air Force was used to take images of this eclipse at an altitude of 25 km.[2]

The Indian Institute of Astrophysics established camps along the path of totality in Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Iradatganj and Diamond Harbour near Kolkata. Astronomers from other institutions and abroad from the Slovakia, Brazil, Russia, Japan and Germany joined IIA at its camps. An IIA team also photographed the eclipse by chasing the Moon’s shadow in an Indian Air Force plane AN-32 from the crew escape hatch on the roof of the cockpit at an altitude of 10,000 feet (3,000 m) above the sea level, which was the first time efforts made by the institute. Doordarshan and All India Radio made live coverages of the eclipse. The eclipse happened to occur on the day of the Diwali.[3]

China edit

Within the Spratly Islands claimed by China, only Cuarteron Reef was controlled by China and lay in the path of totality. Instead of going to the faraway island, The Popular Science Committee of the Chinese Astronomical Society, Beijing Astronomical Society, Beijing Planetarium and Beijing Astronomical Observatory (now incorporated into the National Astronomical Observatories of China) jointly organized observations abroad for the first time. A team of 4 was sent to Sikhio district, Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand by the Beijing Planetarium, and successfully photographed the whole process of the eclipse, the corona at the greatest eclipse, and the Baily's beads at the 2nd and 3rd contact.[4]

In addition, the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Ministry of Electronics Industry, China Earthquake Administration, State Education Commission (now Ministry of Education) and departments in charge of water conservancy and meteorology conducted joint observations on changes of solar radiation, ionosphere, geomagnetic field, radio and acoustic heavy waves, mainly in the Paracel Islands, Sanya, Haikou and Zhengzhou. From all these places, only a partial solar eclipse was visible instead of a total solar eclipse.[5]

List of major cities in the path of totality edit

Images edit

 

Related eclipses edit

Eclipses of 1995 edit

Solar eclipses 1993–1996 edit

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.[7]

Solar eclipse series sets from 1993 to 1996
Descending node   Ascending node
Saros Map Gamma Saros Map Gamma
118 1993 May 21
 
Partial
1.13720 123 1993 November 13
 
Partial
−1.04114
128
 
Partial from Bismarck, ND
1994 May 10
 
Annular
0.40771 133
 
Totality at Bolivia
1994 November 3
 
Total
−0.35216
138 1995 April 29
 
Annular
−0.33821 143
 
Totality at Dundlod, India
1995 October 24
 
Total
0.35176
148 1996 April 17
 
Partial
−1.05796 153 1996 October 12
 
Partial
1.12265

Solar 143 edit

It is a part of Saros cycle 143, repeating every 18 years, 11 days, containing 72 events. The series started with partial solar eclipse on March 7, 1617 and total event from June 24, 1797 through October 24, 1995. It has hybrid eclipses from November 3, 2013 through December 6, 2067, and annular eclipses from December 16, 2085 through September 16, 2536. The series ends at member 72 as a partial eclipse on April 23, 2873. The longest duration of totality was 3 minutes, 50 seconds on August 19, 1887. All eclipses in this series occurs at the Moon’s ascending node.

Series members 17–28 occur between 1741 and 2100
8 9 10
 
May 23, 1743
 
June 3, 1761
 
June 14, 1779
11 12 13
 
June 24, 1797
 
July 6, 1815
 
July 17, 1833
14 15 16
 
July 28, 1851
 
August 7, 1869
 
August 19, 1887
17 18 19
 
August 30, 1905
 
September 10, 1923
 
September 21, 1941
20 21 22
 
October 2, 1959
 
October 12, 1977
 
October 24, 1995 23 24 25  
November 3, 2013
 
November 14, 2031
 
November 25, 2049
26 27 28
 
December 6, 2067
 
December 16, 2085

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 January 5, 1935 and August 11, 2018
January 4-5 October 23-24 August 10-12 May 30-31 March 18-19
111 113 115 117 119
 
January 5, 1935
 
August 12, 1942
 
May 30, 1946
 
March 18, 1950
121 123 125 127 129
 
January 5, 1954
 
October 23, 1957
 
August 11, 1961
 
May 30, 1965
 
March 18, 1969
131 133 135 137 139
 
January 4, 1973
 
October 23, 1976
 
August 10, 1980
 
May 30, 1984
 
March 18, 1988
141 143 145 147 149
 
January 4, 1992
 
October 24, 1995  
August 11, 1999
 
May 31, 2003
 
March 19, 2007
151 153 155
 
January 4, 2011
 
October 23, 2014
 
August 11, 2018

In popular culture edit

Phil Whitaker's prize-winning debut novel Eclipse of the Sun published in 1997 and set in India has at its centre a dramatic attempt to organize a public viewing of the eclipse.

Notes edit

  1. ^ The MIGnificient Flying Machines - MiG-25R Archived 2019-05-05 at the Wayback Machine Bharat Rakshak.com 22 August 2017
  2. ^ Bhatnagar, A; Livingston, William Charles (2005). Fundamentals of Solar Astronomy. World Scientific. p. 157. ISBN 9812382445.
  3. ^ R. C. Kapoor. "SOME TOTAL SOLAR ECLIPSES OBSERVED FROM INDIA". Indian Institute of Astrophysics. Archived from the original on 28 November 2012.
  4. ^ "1995年10月24日泰国日全食". 21 July 2008. Archived from the original on 19 May 2020.
  5. ^ 1995年10月24日日全食观测. 河南省郑州集邮公司.
  6. ^ "October 24, 1995 Total Solar Eclipse". timeanddate. Retrieved 11 April 2024.
  7. ^ 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.

References edit

  • Earth visibility chart and eclipse statistics Eclipse Predictions by Fred Espenak, NASA/GSFC
    • Google interactive map
    • Besselian elements

Photos:

  • Prof. Druckmüller's eclipse photography site
  • Rušin from Nim Ka Thana, India
  • Russian scientist had no successful observation of the eclipse
  • Russian scientist had no successful observation of the eclipse (2) Archived 2009-12-10 at the Wayback Machine
  • The 1995 Eclipse in India