solar eclipse of June 30, 1954

{{Short description|Total eclipse}}

{{Infobox solar eclipse|1954Jun30

| previous = Solar eclipse of January 5, 1954

| next = Solar eclipse of December 25, 1954

}}

A total solar eclipse occurred at the Moon's descending node of orbit on Wednesday, June 30, 1954,{{cite web|title=June 30, 1954 Total Solar Eclipse|url=https://www.timeanddate.com/eclipse/solar/1954-june-30|publisher=timeanddate|access-date=5 August 2024}} with a magnitude of 1.0357. 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 about 3.1 days after perigee (on June 27, 1954, at 11:10 UTC), the Moon's apparent diameter was larger.{{cite web|title=Moon Distances for London, United Kingdom, England|url=https://www.timeanddate.com/astronomy/moon/distance.html?year=1954&n=136|publisher=timeanddate|access-date=5 August 2024}}

Visibility

Totality began at sunrise over the United States over Nebraska, South Dakota, Minnesota, and Wisconsin, and crossed into Canada, across southern Greenland, Iceland and Faroe Islands, then into Europe, across Norway, Sweden, and eastern Europe.Geneslay E., Meeus J., Schock P., Hujer, K. : « L’éclipse totale de Soleil du 30 juin 1954 », l'Astronomie, vol. 68, p. 422 It ended before sunset over Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and ending in northwestern India. The southwestern part of Vilnius, northeastern part of Kyiv, and southwestern part of Baku were covered by the path of totality.

The northeastern part of Mount Elbrus, the highest mountain in Europe, also lay in the path of totality.

The eclipse was mostly seen on June 30, 1954, except for northeastern Soviet Union, where a partial eclipse started on June 30, passing midnight and ended on July 1 due to the midnight sun.

A partial eclipse was visible for parts of eastern North America, Europe, North Africa, West Asia, Central Asia, and South Asia.

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Observation

Within the United Kingdom, the path of totality only covered Shetland Islands in northern Scotland. However, the area was mostly clouded out during the eclipse, and there was even light rain in some places, so observation was not successful. About 400 scientists from around the world traveled to Sweden to observe the total eclipse.{{cite news|title=1954: Three continents see eclipse of sun|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/june/30/newsid_3000000/3000176.stm|work=On This Day|date=30 June 1954 |publisher=BBC News|archive-date=17 August 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200817040800/http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/june/30/newsid_3000000/3000176.stm}} The Astronomy Department of Kiev State University, Soviet Union made observation in Kyiv and took ideal images of solar corona. The Sternberg Astronomical Institute made observation in Nevinnomyssk, Stavropol Krai.{{cite web|title=КОРОНА ЭПОХИ МИНИМУМА СОЛНЕЧНОЙ АКТИВНОСТИ|url=http://www.izmiran.ru/info/personalia/molodensky/Eclips54.html|publisher=IZMIRAN|language=ru|archive-date=21 October 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161021112751/http://www.izmiran.ru/info/personalia/molodensky/Eclips54.html}}

In Wakefield, Massachusetts, U.S., the eclipse was blocked by heavy cloud cover from 6 to 8 a.m. local time, The Wakefield Daily Item reported.{{cite news|last=Henshaw|first=Kristen|work=The Wakefield Daily Item|title=Looking Backward: June 30, 1954|date=June 27, 2024}} "Those who were looking forward to viewing the eclipse of the sun this morning were mightily disappointed. Between 6 and 8 am, the eclipse was hidden by stubborn heavy clouds that refused to move on."

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=Total Solar Eclipse of 1954 Jun 30|url=https://eclipsewise.com/solar/SEprime/1901-2000/SE1954Jun30Tprime.html|publisher=EclipseWise.com|access-date=5 August 2024}}

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|+June 30, 1954 Solar Eclipse Times

! Event

! Time (UTC)

First Penumbral External Contact

| 1954 June 30 at 10:01:27.0 UTC

First Umbral External Contact

| 1954 June 30 at 11:07:26.5 UTC

First Central Line

| 1954 June 30 at 11:08:15.4 UTC

First Umbral Internal Contact

| 1954 June 30 at 11:09:04.5 UTC

Equatorial Conjunction

| 1954 June 30 at 12:22:04.8 UTC

Ecliptic Conjunction

| 1954 June 30 at 12:26:11.3 UTC

Greatest Duration

| 1954 June 30 at 12:29:47.2 UTC

Greatest Eclipse

| 1954 June 30 at 12:32:37.5 UTC

Last Umbral Internal Contact

| 1954 June 30 at 13:56:20.5 UTC

Last Central Line

| 1954 June 30 at 13:57:07.0 UTC

Last Umbral External Contact

| 1954 June 30 at 13:57:53.4 UTC

Last Penumbral External Contact

| 1954 June 30 at 15:03:57.8 UTC

class="wikitable" align="{{{align|right}}}" style="margin:{{#ifeq:{{{align}}}|right|0 0 0.5em 1em|0 1em 0.5em 0}}"

|+June 30, 1954 Solar Eclipse Parameters

! Parameter

! Value

Eclipse Magnitude

| 1.03574

Eclipse Obscuration

| 1.07276

Gamma

| 0.61345

Sun Right Ascension

| 06h35m35.5s

Sun Declination

| +23°11'36.6"

Sun Semi-Diameter

| 15'43.9"

Sun Equatorial Horizontal Parallax

| 08.6"

Moon Right Ascension

| 06h36m00.6s

Moon Declination

| +23°47'16.6"

Moon Semi-Diameter

| 16'05.1"

Moon Equatorial Horizontal Parallax

| 0°59'02.1"

ΔT

| 30.9 s

{{clear}}

Eclipse season

{{See also|Eclipse cycle}}

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.

class="wikitable"

|+ Eclipse season of June–July 1954

! June 30
Descending node (new moon)

July 16
Ascending node (full moon)
200px200px
align=center

| Total solar eclipse
Solar Saros 126

Partial lunar eclipse
Lunar Saros 138

Related eclipses

= Eclipses in 1954 =

= Metonic =

= Tzolkinex =

= Half-Saros =

= Tritos =

= Solar Saros 126 =

= Inex =

= Triad =

= Solar eclipses of 1953–1956 =

{{Solar eclipse set 1953–1956}}

= Saros 126 =

{{Solar_Saros_series_126}}

= Metonic series =

{{Solar Metonic series 1931–2011}}

= Tritos series =

{{Solar Tritos series 2009 January 26}}

= Inex series =

{{Solar Inex series 2012 May 20}}

See also

Notes

{{reflist}}

References

{{Solar eclipse NASA reference|1951/SE1954Jun30T|19540630}}

  • [http://www.izmiran.ru/info/personalia/molodensky/Eclips54.html Photo from Russia]
  • [http://www.eclipse-2008.ru/eclipse/1954.php Solar eclipse of June 30, 1954 in Russia] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090809114333/http://eclipse-2008.ru/eclipse/1954.php |date=August 9, 2009 }}
  • [http://xjubier.free.fr/en/site_pages/solar_eclipses/Solar_Corona_Shape_pg03.html Photo of Solar eclipse]
  • [http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/june/30/newsid_3000000/3000176.stm BBC: 1954: Three continents see eclipse of sun (Article and video)]
  • http://retrofutureground.tumblr.com/post/99724896027/bill-seaman-story-of-eclipse-in-one-picture

{{Solar eclipses}}

{{Commons category|Solar eclipse of 1954 June 30}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Solar Eclipse Of June 30, 1954}}

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Category:1954 in science

1954 06 30

Category:June 1954