- Source: Solar eclipse of July 20, 1963
A total solar eclipse occurred at the Moon's ascending node of orbit between Saturday, July 20 and Sunday, July 21, 1963, with a magnitude of 1.0224. 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 at least the same size as the Sun's or larger, blocking all direct sunlight, turning day into darkness. Totality occurs in a narrow path across Earth's surface, with a partial solar eclipse visible over the surrounding region thousands of kilometres wide. Occurring about 4.1 days after perigee (on July 16, 1963, at 19:20 UTC), the Moon's apparent diameter was larger.
Astronomer Charles H. Smiley observed the eclipse from a U.S. Air Force F-104D Starfighter supersonic aircraft that was "racing the Moon's shadow" at 1,300 mph (2,100 km/h) extending the duration of totality to 4 minutes 3 seconds.
The Moon's apparent diameter was 4.8 arcseconds smaller than the January 25, 1963 annular solar eclipse. This was a total solar eclipse because it occurred in July when the Earth is near aphelion (furthest from the Sun). The Moon's apparent diameter was just over 2.2% larger than the Sun's.
Totality was visible from Hokkaido in Japan and Kuril Islands in Soviet Union (now belonging to Russia) on July 21, and Alaska, and Maine in the United States and also Canada on July 20. A partial eclipse was visible for parts of the eastern Soviet Union, North America, Central America, the Caribbean, far northern Europe, and northern South America.
Observations
Mamoru Mohri, Japanese scientist and former NASDA astronaut, who was 15 years old and living in Hokkaido at the time, said that seeing this total solar eclipse made him want to become a scientist.
Scientists from the Dominion Observatory, University of Oxford, National Research Council Canada and University of Saskatchewan flew a Royal Canadian Air Force aircraft to observe the total eclipse at 30,000 feet (9,100 m) above the Great Slave Lake area. Due to the lack of navigation system in the area, the plane had to fly directly from Ottawa to Fort Simpson and then back to Ottawa, taking about 13 hours in total. On July 20, thin clouds in the Great Slave Lake area expanded to an altitude of 40,000 feet (12,000 m), so no results were got from optical observations, but the instruments installed on the aircraft still recorded data. In addition, wind speeds of nearly 100 knots (190 km/h; 120 mph) also caused the aircraft to enter the Moon's umbra one minute ahead of schedule, west of the planned location. In addition, scientists from the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada also made radio observations in Grand-Mère, Quebec.
In popular culture
The eclipse was featured in the comic strip Peanuts (July 15–20, 1963), with Linus demonstrating a safe way of observing the eclipse as opposed to looking directly at the eclipse. On the day the eclipse passed over his area, Linus was left helplessly standing in the rain with cloud cover entirely too thick to witness the eclipse.
This particular eclipse event plays an important part in two of Stephen King's novels, Gerald's Game (1992) and Dolores Claiborne (1992).
The eclipse is mentioned in passing in John Updike' s novel Couples (1968) in relation to Piet and Foxy.
The eclipse was featured in the season 3 episode of Mad Men entitled "Seven Twenty Three" (2009, S03E07).
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.
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.
Related eclipses
= Eclipses in 1963
=A penumbral lunar eclipse on January 9.
An annular solar eclipse on January 25.
A partial lunar eclipse on July 6.
A total solar eclipse on July 20.
A total lunar eclipse on December 30.
= Metonic
=Preceded by: Solar eclipse of October 2, 1959
Followed by: Solar eclipse of May 9, 1967
= Tzolkinex
=Preceded by: Solar eclipse of June 8, 1956
Followed by: Solar eclipse of August 31, 1970
= Half-Saros
=Preceded by: Lunar eclipse of July 16, 1954
Followed by: Lunar eclipse of July 26, 1972
= Tritos
=Preceded by: Solar eclipse of August 20, 1952
Followed by: Solar eclipse of June 20, 1974
= Solar Saros 145
=Preceded by: Solar eclipse of July 9, 1945
Followed by: Solar eclipse of July 31, 1981
= Inex
=Preceded by: Solar eclipse of August 10, 1934
Followed by: Solar eclipse of June 30, 1992
= Triad
=Preceded by: Solar eclipse of September 17, 1876
Followed by: Solar eclipse of May 20, 2050
= Solar eclipses of 1961–1964
=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.
The partial solar eclipses on June 10, 1964 and December 4, 1964 occur in the next lunar year eclipse set.
= Saros 145
=This eclipse is a part of Saros series 145, repeating every 18 years, 11 days, and containing 77 events. The series started with a partial solar eclipse on January 4, 1639. It contains an annular eclipse on June 6, 1891; a hybrid eclipse on June 17, 1909; and total eclipses from June 29, 1927 through September 9, 2648. The series ends at member 77 as a partial eclipse on April 17, 3009. Its eclipses are tabulated in three columns; every third eclipse in the same column is one exeligmos apart, so they all cast shadows over approximately the same parts of the Earth.
The longest duration of annularity was produced by member 15 at 6 seconds (by default) on June 6, 1891, and the longest duration of totality will be produced by member 50 at 7 minutes, 12 seconds on June 25, 2522. All eclipses in this series occur at the Moon’s ascending node of orbit.
= 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.
= Tritos series
=This eclipse is a part of a tritos cycle, repeating at alternating nodes every 135 synodic months (≈ 3986.63 days, or 11 years minus 1 month). Their appearance and longitude are irregular due to a lack of synchronization with the anomalistic month (period of perigee), but groupings of 3 tritos cycles (≈ 33 years minus 3 months) come close (≈ 434.044 anomalistic months), so eclipses are similar in these groupings.
The partial solar eclipses on December 7, 2170 (part of Saros 164) and November 7, 2181 (part of Saros 165) are also a part of this series but are not included in the table below.
= Inex series
=This eclipse is a part of the long period inex cycle, repeating at alternating nodes, every 358 synodic months (≈ 10,571.95 days, or 29 years minus 20 days). Their appearance and longitude are irregular due to a lack of synchronization with the anomalistic month (period of perigee). However, groupings of 3 inex cycles (≈ 87 years minus 2 months) comes close (≈ 1,151.02 anomalistic months), so eclipses are similar in these groupings.
Notes
References
Earth visibility chart and eclipse statistics Eclipse Predictions by Fred Espenak, NASA/GSFC
Google interactive map
Besselian elements
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