A total solar eclipse occurred at the Moon's ascending node of orbit on Friday, September 9, 1904,[1][2][3][4] with a magnitude of 1.0709. 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. Occurring only about 1.5 hours after perigee (on September 9, 1904, at 19:10 UTC), the Moon's apparent diameter was larger.[5]
| Solar eclipse of September 9, 1904 | |
|---|---|
 Map | |
| Type of eclipse | |
| Nature | Total |
| Gamma | −0.1625 |
| Magnitude | 1.0709 |
| Maximum eclipse | |
| Duration | 380 s (6 min 20 s) |
| Coordinates | 3°42′S 134°30′W / 3.7°S 134.5°W |
| Max. width of band | 234 km (145 mi) |
| Times (UTC) | |
| Greatest eclipse | 20:44:21 |
| References | |
| Saros | 133 (39 of 72) |
| Catalog # (SE5000) | 9291 |
Totality was visible from German New Guinea (the part now belonging to Marshall Islands) on September 10 and Chile on September 9. A partial eclipse was visible for parts of Oceania and Western South America.
The event is mentioned in James Joyce's novel Ulysses.
Observations
editThe National Astronomical Observatory of Chile established an observation station in Taltal, Antofagasta, but the eclipse was clouded out and could not be seen. In the capital city Santiago, a partial eclipse was seen just before sunset.[6]
Eclipse details
editShown 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.[7]
| Event | Time (UTC) |
|---|---|
| First Penumbral External Contact | 1904 September 09 at 18:07:46.2 UTC |
| First Umbral External Contact | 1904 September 09 at 19:01:33.0 UTC |
| First Central Line | 1904 September 09 at 19:02:57.8 UTC |
| First Umbral Internal Contact | 1904 September 09 at 19:04:22.7 UTC |
| First Penumbral Internal Contact | 1904 September 09 at 19:59:18.7 UTC |
| Greatest Duration | 1904 September 09 at 20:42:32.1 UTC |
| Ecliptic Conjunction | 1904 September 09 at 20:42:41.4 UTC |
| Greatest Eclipse | 1904 September 09 at 20:44:20.7 UTC |
| Equatorial Conjunction | 1904 September 09 at 20:49:31.5 UTC |
| Last Penumbral Internal Contact | 1904 September 09 at 21:29:14.6 UTC |
| Last Umbral Internal Contact | 1904 September 09 at 22:24:15.2 UTC |
| Last Central Line | 1904 September 09 at 22:25:39.9 UTC |
| Last Umbral External Contact | 1904 September 09 at 22:27:04.6 UTC |
| Last Penumbral External Contact | 1904 September 09 at 23:20:53.1 UTC |
| Parameter | Value |
|---|---|
| Eclipse Magnitude | 1.07094 |
| Eclipse Obscuration | 1.14691 |
| Gamma | −0.16252 |
| Sun Right Ascension | 11h11m04.6s |
| Sun Declination | +05°15'01.3" |
| Sun Semi-Diameter | 15'53.2" |
| Sun Equatorial Horizontal Parallax | 08.7" |
| Moon Right Ascension | 11h10m52.8s |
| Moon Declination | +05°05'30.9" |
| Moon Semi-Diameter | 16'43.6" |
| Moon Equatorial Horizontal Parallax | 1°01'23.4" |
| ΔT | 3.4 s |
Eclipse season
editThis 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.
| September 9 Ascending node (new moon) |
September 24 Descending node (full moon) |
|---|---|
| |
|
| Total solar eclipse Solar Saros 133 |
Penumbral lunar eclipse Lunar Saros 145 |
Related eclipses
editEclipses in 1904
edit- A penumbral lunar eclipse on March 2.
- An annular solar eclipse on March 17.
- A penumbral lunar eclipse on March 31.
- A total solar eclipse on September 9.
- A penumbral lunar eclipse on September 24.
Metonic
edit- Preceded by: Solar eclipse of November 22, 1900
- Followed by: Solar eclipse of June 28, 1908
Tzolkinex
edit- Preceded by: Solar eclipse of July 29, 1897
- Followed by: Solar eclipse of October 22, 1911
Half-Saros
edit- Preceded by: Lunar eclipse of September 4, 1895
- Followed by: Lunar eclipse of September 15, 1913
Tritos
edit- Preceded by: Solar eclipse of October 9, 1893
- Followed by: Solar eclipse of August 10, 1915
Solar Saros 133
edit- Preceded by: Solar eclipse of August 29, 1886
- Followed by: Solar eclipse of September 21, 1922
Inex
edit- Preceded by: Solar eclipse of September 29, 1875
- Followed by: Solar eclipse of August 21, 1933
Triad
edit- Preceded by: Solar eclipse of November 9, 1817
- Followed by: Solar eclipse of July 11, 1991
Solar eclipses of 1902–1906
editThis 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.[8]
The partial solar eclipses on May 7, 1902 and October 31, 1902 occur in the previous lunar year eclipse set, and the partial solar eclipse on July 21, 1906 occurs in the next lunar year eclipse set.
| Solar eclipse series sets from 1902 to 1906 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Descending node | Ascending node | |||||
| Saros | Map | Gamma | Saros | Map | Gamma | |
| 108 | April 8, 1902 Partial |
1.5024 | 113 | October 1, 1902 | ||
| 118 | March 29, 1903 Annular |
0.8413 | 123 | September 21, 1903 Total |
−0.8967 | |
| 128 | March 17, 1904 Annular |
0.1299 | 133 | September 9, 1904 Total |
−0.1625 | |
| 138 | March 6, 1905 Annular |
−0.5768 | 143
|
August 30, 1905 Total |
0.5708 | |
| 148 | February 23, 1906 Partial |
−1.2479 | 153 | August 20, 1906 Partial |
1.3731 | |
Saros 133
editThis eclipse is a part of Saros series 133, repeating every 18 years, 11 days, and containing 72 events. The series started with a partial solar eclipse on July 13, 1219. It contains annular eclipses from November 20, 1435 through January 13, 1526; a hybrid eclipse on January 24, 1544; and total eclipses from February 3, 1562 through June 21, 2373. The series ends at member 72 as a partial eclipse on September 5, 2499. 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 25 at 1 minutes, 14 seconds on November 30, 1453, and the longest duration of totality was produced by member 61 at 6 minutes, 50 seconds on August 7, 1850. All eclipses in this series occur at the Moon’s ascending node of orbit.[9]
| Series members 34–55 occur between 1801 and 2200: | ||
|---|---|---|
| 34 | 35 | 36 |
 July 17, 1814 |
 July 27, 1832 |
 August 7, 1850 |
| 37 | 38 | 39 |
 August 18, 1868 |
 August 29, 1886 |
September 9, 1904 |
| 40 | 41 | 42 |
 September 21, 1922 |
 October 1, 1940 |
 October 12, 1958 |
| 43 | 44 | 45 |
 October 23, 1976 |
 November 3, 1994 |
 November 13, 2012 |
| 46 | 47 | 48 |
 November 25, 2030 |
 December 5, 2048 |
 December 17, 2066 |
| 49 | 50 | 51 |
 December 27, 2084 |
 January 8, 2103 |
 January 19, 2121 |
| 52 | 53 | 54 |
 January 30, 2139 |
 February 9, 2157 |
 February 21, 2175 |
| 55 | ||
 March 3, 2193 | ||
Metonic series
editThe 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.
| 23 eclipse events between February 3, 1859 and June 29, 1946 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| February 1–3 | November 21–22 | September 8–10 | June 28–29 | April 16–18 |
| 109 | 111 | 113 | 115 | 117 |
 February 3, 1859 |
 November 21, 1862 |
 June 28, 1870 |
 April 16, 1874 | |
| 119 | 121 | 123 | 125 | 127 |
 February 2, 1878 |
 November 21, 1881 |
 September 8, 1885 |
 June 28, 1889 |
 April 16, 1893 |
| 129 | 131 | 133 | 135 | 137 |
 February 1, 1897 |
 November 22, 1900 |
September 9, 1904 |
 June 28, 1908 |
 April 17, 1912 |
| 139 | 141 | 143 | 145 | 147 |
 February 3, 1916 |
 November 22, 1919 |
 September 10, 1923 |
 June 29, 1927 |
 April 18, 1931 |
| 149 | 151 | 153 | 155 | |
 February 3, 1935 |
 November 21, 1938 |
 September 10, 1942 |
 June 29, 1946 | |
Tritos series
editThis 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.
| Series members between 1801 and 2200 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 June 16, 1806 (Saros 124) |
 May 16, 1817 (Saros 125) |
 April 14, 1828 (Saros 126) |
 March 15, 1839 (Saros 127) |
 February 12, 1850 (Saros 128) |
 January 11, 1861 (Saros 129) |
 December 12, 1871 (Saros 130) |
 November 10, 1882 (Saros 131) |
 October 9, 1893 (Saros 132) |
September 9, 1904 (Saros 133) |
 August 10, 1915 (Saros 134) |
 July 9, 1926 (Saros 135) |
 June 8, 1937 (Saros 136) |
 May 9, 1948 (Saros 137) |
 April 8, 1959 (Saros 138) |
 March 7, 1970 (Saros 139) |
 February 4, 1981 (Saros 140) |
 January 4, 1992 (Saros 141) |
 December 4, 2002 (Saros 142) |
 November 3, 2013 (Saros 143) |
 October 2, 2024 (Saros 144) |
 September 2, 2035 (Saros 145) |
 August 2, 2046 (Saros 146) |
 July 1, 2057 (Saros 147) |
 May 31, 2068 (Saros 148) |
 May 1, 2079 (Saros 149) |
 March 31, 2090 (Saros 150) |
 February 28, 2101 (Saros 151) |
 January 29, 2112 (Saros 152) |
 December 28, 2122 (Saros 153) |
 November 26, 2133 (Saros 154) |
 October 26, 2144 (Saros 155) |
 September 26, 2155 (Saros 156) |
 August 25, 2166 (Saros 157) |
 July 25, 2177 (Saros 158) |
 June 24, 2188 (Saros 159) |
 May 24, 2199 (Saros 160) | |||
Inex series
editThis 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.
| Series members between 1801 and 2200 | ||
|---|---|---|
 November 9, 1817 (Saros 130) |
 October 20, 1846 (Saros 131) |
 September 29, 1875 (Saros 132) |
| September 9, 1904 (Saros 133) |
 August 21, 1933 (Saros 134) |
 July 31, 1962 (Saros 135) |
 July 11, 1991 (Saros 136) |
 June 21, 2020 (Saros 137) |
 May 31, 2049 (Saros 138) |
 May 11, 2078 (Saros 139) |
 April 23, 2107 (Saros 140) |
 April 1, 2136 (Saros 141) |
 March 12, 2165 (Saros 142) |
 February 21, 2194 (Saros 143) |
|
Notes
edit- ^ "September 9, 1904 Total Solar Eclipse". timeanddate. Retrieved 30 July 2024.
- ^ "To-day's eclipse". Evening Post. Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, England. 1904-09-09. p. 2. Retrieved 2023-10-27 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "SOLAR ECLIPSE". The Hawaiian Star. Honolulu, Hawaii. 1904-09-09. p. 8. Retrieved 2023-10-27 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Solar Eclipse and Earthquake Shock". Altoona Tribune. Altoona, Pennsylvania. 1904-09-10. p. 1. Retrieved 2023-10-27 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Moon Distances for London, United Kingdom, England". timeanddate. Retrieved 30 July 2024.
- ^ W. W. Campbell (10 December 1904). "The Total Eclipse of September 9, 1904". Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific. 16. Astronomical Society of the Pacific: 266–267.
- ^ "Total Solar Eclipse of 1904 Sep 09". EclipseWise.com. Retrieved 30 July 2024.
- ^ 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.
- ^ "NASA - Catalog of Solar Eclipses of Saros 133". eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov.
References
edit- Earth visibility chart and eclipse statistics Eclipse Predictions by Fred Espenak, NASA/GSFC
