solar eclipse of January 3, 1946

{{Infobox solar eclipse|1946Jan03

| previous = Solar eclipse of July 9, 1945

| next = Solar eclipse of May 30, 1946

}}

A partial solar eclipse occurred at the Moon's descending node of orbit on Thursday, January 3, 1946,{{cite web|title=January 3, 1946 Partial Solar Eclipse|url=https://www.timeanddate.com/eclipse/solar/1946-january-3|publisher=timeanddate|access-date=4 August 2024}} with a magnitude of 0.5529. 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.

This was the first of four partial solar eclipses in 1946, with the others occurring on May 30, June 29, and November 23.

A partial eclipse was visible for parts of Antarctica and extreme southern South America.

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 1946 Jan 03|url=https://eclipsewise.com/solar/SEprime/1901-2000/SE1946Jan03Pprime.html|publisher=EclipseWise.com|access-date=4 August 2024}}

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|+January 3, 1946 Solar Eclipse Times

! Event

! Time (UTC)

First Penumbral External Contact

| 1946 January 03 at 10:25:50.6 UTC

Greatest Eclipse

| 1946 January 03 at 12:16:10.7 UTC

Equatorial Conjunction

| 1946 January 03 at 12:16:37.9 UTC

Ecliptic Conjunction

| 1946 January 03 at 12:30:05.5 UTC

Last Penumbral External Contact

| 1946 January 03 at 14:06:25.7 UTC

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|+January 3, 1946 Solar Eclipse Parameters

! Parameter

! Value

Eclipse Magnitude

| 0.55294

Eclipse Obscuration

| 0.43993

Gamma

| −1.23918

Sun Right Ascension

| 18h54m29.6s

Sun Declination

| -22°51'18.5"

Sun Semi-Diameter

| 16'15.9"

Sun Equatorial Horizontal Parallax

| 08.9"

Moon Right Ascension

| 18h54m28.6s

Moon Declination

| -23°59'55.4"

Moon Semi-Diameter

| 15'07.7"

Moon Equatorial Horizontal Parallax

| 0°55'31.2"

ΔT

| 27.3 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 December 1945–January 1946

! December 19
Ascending node (full moon) !! January 3
Descending node (new moon)

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| Total lunar eclipse
Lunar Saros 124

Partial solar eclipse
Solar Saros 150