Solar eclipse of September 20, 1960

{{Infobox solar eclipse|1960Sep20

| previous = Solar eclipse of March 27, 1960

| next = Solar eclipse of February 15, 1961

}}

A partial solar eclipse occurred at the Moon's ascending node of orbit between Tuesday, September 20 and Wednesday, September 21, 1960,{{cite web|title=September 20–21, 1960 Partial Solar Eclipse|url=https://www.timeanddate.com/eclipse/solar/1960-september-20|publisher=timeanddate|access-date=6 August 2024}} with a magnitude of 0.6139. 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 partial solar eclipse occurs in the polar regions of the Earth when the center of the Moon's shadow misses the Earth.

A partial eclipse was visible for parts of the eastern Soviet Union on September 21 and Alaska, Canada, the United States, and northern Mexico on September 20.

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=Partial Solar Eclipse of 1960 Sep 20|url=https://eclipsewise.com/solar/SEprime/1901-2000/SE1960Sep20Pprime.html|publisher=EclipseWise.com|access-date=6 August 2024}}

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|+September 20, 1960 Solar Eclipse Times

! Event

! Time (UTC)

First Penumbral External Contact

| 1960 September 20 at 21:09:33.3 UTC

Equatorial Conjunction

| 1960 September 20 at 22:16:00.6 UTC

Greatest Eclipse

| 1960 September 20 at 22:59:55.7 UTC

Ecliptic Conjunction

| 1960 September 20 at 23:13:03.1 UTC

Last Penumbral External Contact

| 1960 September 21 at 00:50:33.6 UTC

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|+September 20, 1960 Solar Eclipse Parameters

! Parameter

! Value

Eclipse Magnitude

| 0.61389

Eclipse Obscuration

| 0.51513

Gamma

| 1.20565

Sun Right Ascension

| 11h52m31.1s

Sun Declination

| +00°48'39.5"

Sun Semi-Diameter

| 15'55.9"

Sun Equatorial Horizontal Parallax

| 08.8"

Moon Right Ascension

| 11h53m54.7s

Moon Declination

| +01°53'18.2"

Moon Semi-Diameter

| 15'23.6"

Moon Equatorial Horizontal Parallax

| 0°56'29.8"

ΔT

| 33.5 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 September 1960

! September 5
Descending node (full moon)

September 20
Ascending node (new moon)

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| Total lunar eclipse
Lunar Saros 127

Partial solar eclipse
Solar Saros 153