Solar eclipse of April 8, 1959

{{Infobox solar eclipse|1959Apr08

| previous = Solar eclipse of October 12, 1958

| next = Solar eclipse of October 2, 1959

}}

An annular solar eclipse occurred at the Moon's descending node of orbit on Wednesday, April 8, 1959,{{cite web|title=April 8, 1959 Annular Solar Eclipse|url=https://www.timeanddate.com/eclipse/solar/1959-april-8|publisher=timeanddate|access-date=6 August 2024}} with a magnitude of 0.9401. 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. An annular solar eclipse occurs when the Moon's apparent diameter is smaller than the Sun's, blocking most of the Sun's light and causing the Sun to look like an annulus (ring). An annular eclipse appears as a partial eclipse over a region of the Earth thousands of kilometres wide. Occurring about 2.9 days after apogee (on April 10, 1959, at 23:00 UTC), the Moon's apparent diameter was smaller.{{cite web|title=Moon Distances for London, United Kingdom, England|url=https://www.timeanddate.com/astronomy/moon/distance.html?year=1959&n=136|publisher=timeanddate|access-date=6 August 2024}}

Annularity was visible from Australia, southeastern tip of Milne Bay Province in the Territory of Papua New Guinea (today's Papua New Guinea), British Solomon Islands (today's Solomon Islands), Gilbert and Ellice Islands (the part now belonging to Tuvalu), Tokelau, and Swains Island in American Samoa. A partial eclipse was visible for parts of Australia, Antarctica, Southeast Asia, and Oceania.

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.{{cite web|title=Annular Solar Eclipse of 1959 Apr 08|url=https://eclipsewise.com/solar/SEprime/1901-2000/SE1959Apr08Aprime.html|publisher=EclipseWise.com|access-date=6 August 2024}}

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|+April 8, 1959 Solar Eclipse Times

! Event

! Time (UTC)

First Penumbral External Contact

| 1959 April 8 at 00:27:28.0 UTC

First Umbral External Contact

| 1959 April 8 at 01:36:33.3 UTC

First Central Line

| 1959 April 8 at 01:39:23.2 UTC

First Umbral Internal Contact

| 1959 April 8 at 01:42:14.0 UTC

Equatorial Conjunction

| 1959 April 8 at 03:08:03.5 UTC

Greatest Eclipse

| 1959 April 8 at 03:24:08.2 UTC

Ecliptic Conjunction

| 1959 April 8 at 03:29:32.4 UTC

Greatest Duration

| 1959 April 8 at 03:30:28.4 UTC

Last Umbral Internal Contact

| 1959 April 8 at 05:06:13.3 UTC

Last Central Line

| 1959 April 8 at 05:09:05.4 UTC

Last Umbral External Contact

| 1959 April 8 at 05:11:56.5 UTC

Last Penumbral External Contact

| 1959 April 8 at 06:20:59.2 UTC

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|+April 8, 1959 Solar Eclipse Parameters

! Parameter

! Value

Eclipse Magnitude

| 0.94012

Eclipse Obscuration

| 0.88382

Gamma

| −0.45463

Sun Right Ascension

| 01h04m44.7s

Sun Declination

| +06°53'31.5"

Sun Semi-Diameter

| 15'58.4"

Sun Equatorial Horizontal Parallax

| 08.8"

Moon Right Ascension

| 01h05m13.2s

Moon Declination

| +06°29'54.6"

Moon Semi-Diameter

| 14'49.0"

Moon Equatorial Horizontal Parallax

| 0°54'22.5"

ΔT

| 32.8 s

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.

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|+ Eclipse season of March–April 1959

! March 24
Ascending node (full moon)

April 8
Descending node (new moon)

200px

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| Partial lunar eclipse
Lunar Saros 112

Annular solar eclipse
Solar Saros 138