ECLIPSE Total Eclipses—(continued). Date at NoonPoint.
Greenwich Dnr. of ofM.T. Conj. Total in Long. Phase
Regions swept by Shadow.
Series IV. Ascending Node, Central date, 2096, May 22. d. h. m. m. 1807, Nov. 29 11 N 2 E 28 23 48 1- Central Africa, Anolia. 1825, Dec. 9 9 N 127 W 9 8 27 1 5 Pacific Ocean, Mexico. 1843, Dec. 21 8 N 102 E 20 17 10 1'6 Indian and North Pacific Oceans India. 1861, Dec. 31 9 N 29 W 31 1 55 1-8 Caribbean Sea to North Africa. 1880, Jan. 11 10N 160 W 11 10 40 2- Pacific Ocean, California. 1898, Jan. 22 13 N 69 E 21 19 24 2-3 East Africa, India, China. 1916, Feb. 3 16 N 62 W 3 4 6 2-5 Pacific Ocean, Venezuela, West Indies. 1934, Feb. 14 19 N 168 E 13 12 44 2- Borneo, Celebes. 1952, Feb. 25 22 N 39 E 24 21 17 3 0 Nubia, Persia, Siberia. 1970, Mar. 7 25 N 88 W 7 5 43 3- Mexico, Georgia, South and North Carolina. Series V. Descending Node; Central date, 1702, Jan. 28. 1810, Apr. 12 N 154 E 13 41 Ann. Ocean, Borneo. 1828, Apr. 14 18 N 39 E 21 18 0-3 Pacific Northern Africa, India. 1846, Apr. 25 25 N 75 W 4 49 0-9 Mexico, West Indies, Africa. 1864, May 6 32 N 173 E 12 14 1- Pacific Ocean. 1882, May 17 39 N 63 E 19 34 1-8 Egypt, Central Asia, China. 1900, May 28 45 N 45 W 2 50 2'1 United States, Spain, North Africa. 1918, June 8 51 N 152 W 10 3 2- British Columbia, United States. 1936, June 19 56 N 101 E 17 15 2-5 Greece to Central Asia. 1954, June 30 62 N 5 W 1 27 2-5 Canada, Scandinavia, Russia, Persia. Series VI. Descending Node; Central date, 2009, Jvly 22. 1811, Mar. 24 39 S 26 W 24 2 19 South Atlantic to South Africa. 1829, Apr. 3 32 S 149 W 3 10 24 South Pacific Ocean. 1847, Apr. 15 24 S 90 E 14 18 22 Indian Ocean, Java. 1865, Apr. 25 16 S 30 W 25 2 13 Brazil to Central Africa. 1883, May 6 9 S 147 W 6 9 58 Pacific Ocean, Caroline Islands. 1901, May 18 2 S 97 E 17 17 38 Sumatra, Borneo. 1919, May 29 4N 1SW 29 1 12 Peru, Brazil, Central Africa. 1937, June 8 10N 131 W 8 8 43 Pacific Ocean, Peru. 1955, June 20 15 N 117 E 19 16 12 Ceylon, Siam, Philippines. Series VII. Ascending Node ; Central date, 1904, Sept 9. 1814, July 17 31 N 84 E 16 18 33 Africa, Central Asia, China. 1832, July 27 24 N 28 W 27 2 2 West Indies to Central Africa. 1850, Aug. 7 18 N 142 W 7 9 34 Pacific Ocean. 1868, Aug. 18 10N 103 E 17 17 12 India to Pacific Ocean. 1886, Aug. 29 3N 14 W 29 0 54 West Indies, Central Africa. 1904, Sept. 9 5 S 133 W 9 8 43 Pacific Ocean. 1922, Sept. 21 12 S 106 E 20 16 38 East Africa, Australia. 1940, Oct. 1 19 S 16 W 1 0 42 Colombia, Brazil, South Africa. 1958, Oct. 12 26 S 139 W 12 8 52 Chile, Argentina. Series VIII. Ascending Node; Central date, 2212, March 3. 1815, July 6 88 N 175 W 6 11 52 3'2 Polar Regions, Western Siberia. 1833, July 17 78 N 76 E 16 19 16 3‘5 North-Eastern Asia. 1851, July 28 70 N 34 W 28 2 41 3’7 Scandinavia, South-East Europe, 1869, Aug. 7 61N 145 W 7 10 8 3'8 United States. 1887, Aug. 19 53 N 102 E 18 17 39 S’S North Europe, Siberia, Japan. 1905, Aug. 30 45 N 12 W 30 1 13 3‘8 Canada, Spain, North Africa. 1923, Sept. 10 38 N 128 W 10 8 53 3‘6 California, Mexico, Central 1941, Sept. 21 SON 114 E 20 16 39 3'3 Central Asia, China, Pacific 1959, Oct. 2 23 N 6 W 2 0 32 3'0 Canaries, Central Africa. Series IX. Descending Node; Central date, 1510, May 8. 1816, Nov. 19 43 N 30 E 18 22 9 1 - 3 Eastern Europe, Central Asia. 1834. Nov. 30 40 N 101W 30 6 48 1 9 Southern and Western United States. 1852, Dec. 11 37 N 127 E 10 15 32 2'0 China, Pacific Ocean. 1870, Dec. 22 SON 5 W 22 0 19 2'1 Gibraltar, Northern Africa, Sicily. 1889, Jan. 1 37 N 138 W 19 8 2'2 California, Oregon, British America. 1907, Jan. 14 39 N 89 E 13 17 57 2'3 Russia, Central Asia. 1925, Jan. 24 42 N 44 W 24 2 46 2'4 United States. 1943, Feb. 4 47 N 176 W 4 11 31 2 5 Siberia, Alaska. 1961, Feb. 15 53 N 53 E 14 20 11 2'6 France, Italy, Austria, Siberia. Series X. Descending Node ; Central date, 1817, Nov. 9. 1817, Nov. 9 7 S 149 E 8 13 53 Burma, Pacific Ocean. 1835, Nov. 20, 10 s 20 E 19 22 31 Central Africa, Madagascar. 1853, Nov. 30 11 s 111 W 30 7 14 Pacific Ocean and Brazil. 1871, Dec. 12 12 S 118 E 11 16 2 Southern India, Northern Australia. 1889, Dec. 22 12 S 13 W 22 0 52 Western Africa. 1908, Jan. 3 12 S 145 W 3 9 44 Pacific Ocean. 1926, Jan. 14 10 S 82 E 13 18 35 East Africa, Sumatra, Philippines. 1944, Jan. 25 7 S 49 W 25 3 25 Peru, Brazil, West Africa. 1962, Feb. 5 4 S 179 E 4 12 11 New Guinea. Series XI. Ascending Node ; Central date, 2270, Jan. 22. 1927, June 29 '8 N 84 E 28 18 32 England, Scotland, Scandinavia. 1945, July 9 70 N 20 W 9 1 36 United States, British America, Scandinavia, Russia. 1963, July 20 62 N 126 W 20 8 43 Alaska, Hudson’s Bay Territory. 1981, July 31 54 N 127 E 30 15 53 Central Asia, Siberia. 1999, Aug. 11 46 N 18 E 10 23 8 Cornwall, Southern Europe, and Asia.
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It will be noticed that two of these series, VI. and VII., will be, or have been, notable for the long duration of totality. Those of 1937 and 1955 fall not more than 20s below the absolute maximum of 7m 30s. But series IV. will increase to a yet greater duration, reaching in 2150, June 25, a duration of about 7m 16s, and on 2168, July 5, a duration of 7m 28s, the longest in human history. The first of these will pass over the Pacific Ocean; the second over the 4 southern part of India, near Madras. Physical Phenomena of Recent Total Eclipses. 1 As the moon advances on the solar disc, the sharp and rugged edge of the lunar disc is in strong contrast to the soft and7 uniform outline of the sun’s limb. Some little 3 time before the commencement of the total phase the entire outline of the moon may be distinguished, that part off the sun being seen by its cutting off the faint light of the corona. A few seconds before the commencement of the total phase the red light of the chromosphere becomes visible, and will be seen 4 most distinctly as continuations of the solar crescent at its two ends. Owing to the inequalities of the lunar surface, 4 the diminution of the solar crescent does not go on with perfect uniformity, but, just before the last moment, what remains of it is generally broken up into separate portions of light, which, magnified and diffused by the irradiation of the telescope, present the phenomenon long celebrated under the name of “Baily’s beads.” These were so called because minutely and vividly described by Baily as he observed them during the annular eclipse of May 15, 1836, when he compared them to a string of bright beads, irregular in size and distance from each other. The disappearance of the last bead is commonly taken as the beginning of totality. An arc of the chromosphere will then be visible at the point of disappearance, the length and duration of which will depend on the apparent diameter of the moon as compared with that of the sun, being greater in length and longer seen as the excess of diameter of the moon is less. The red prominences may now generally be seen here and there around the whole disc of the moon, while the effulgence of soft light called the corona surrounds it on all sides. Before the invention of the spectroscope, observers of total eclipses could do little more than describe in detail the varying phenomena presented by the prominences and the corona. Drawings of the latter showed it to have the appearance of rays surrounding the dark disc of the moon, quite similar to the glory depicted by the old painters around the head of a saint. The discrepancies between the outlines as thus pictured, not only at different times, but by different observers at the same time and place, are such as to show that little reliance can be placed on the details represented by hand drawings. During the eclipse of July 8, 1842, the shadow of the moon passed from Perpignan, France, through Milan and Vienna, over Russia and Central Asia, to the Pacific Ocean. Very detailed physical observations were made, but none which need be specially mentioned in the present connexion. The eclipse of July 28, 1851, was total in Scandinavia and Russia. It was observed in the former region by many astronomers, among them Airy and Dawes. It was especially noteworthy for the first attempt to photograph such a phenomenon. A daguerreotype clearly showing the protuberances was taken by Berkawski at the Observatory of Konigsberg. An attempt by Majocchi to daguerreotype the corona was a failure. Photographs of the eclipse of July 18, 1860, were taken by Padre Secchi and Mr Warren De La Rue, which showed the prominences well, and proved that they were progressively obscured by the edge of the advancing moon. It was thus shown that they were solar appendages, and did not belong to the moon, as had sometimes been supposed. The corona was
