A total solar eclipse occurred at the Moon's descending node of orbit on Sunday, August 9, 1896, with a magnitude of 1.0392. 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 2.5 days before perigee (on August 11, 1896, at 18:30 UTC), the Moon's apparent diameter was larger.
The path of totality was visible from parts of northern Norway, northern Sweden, the Russian Empire, and the Empire of Japan. A partial solar eclipse was also visible for much of Europe, Central Asia, East Asia, Northeast Asia, Alaska, and Greenland.
This event was the subject of the first organized eclipse expedition by the British Astronomical Association. A group of 165 amateur and professional astronomers sailed from Tilbury, England on July 25, heading toward Vadsø, Norway. This expedition failed to produce any usable results as they were frustrated by the weather conditions at the time of the eclipse. However, a smaller expedition to Novaya Zemlya on Sir George Baden-Powell's yacht Otario met with success.
Gallery
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.
+August 9, 1896 Solar Eclipse Times Event Time (UTC) First Penumbral External Contact 1896 August 9 at 02:43:20.8 UTC First Umbral External Contact 1896 August 9 at 03:52:06.8 UTC First Central Line 1896 August 9 at 03:53:08.3 UTC First Umbral Internal Contact 1896 August 9 at 03:54:10.1 UTC Equatorial Conjunction 1896 August 9 at 04:37:13.0 UTC Ecliptic Conjunction 1896 August 9 at 05:01:41.9 UTC Greatest Duration 1896 August 9 at 05:08:37.2 UTC Greatest Eclipse 1896 August 9 at 05:09:00.1 UTC Last Umbral Internal Contact 1896 August 9 at 06:24:07.8 UTC Last Central Line 1896 August 9 at 06:25:11.8 UTC Last Umbral External Contact 1896 August 9 at 06:26:15.3 UTC Last Penumbral External Contact 1896 August 9 at 07:34:47.9 UTC
+August 9, 1896 Solar Eclipse Parameters Parameter Value Eclipse Magnitude 1.03918 Eclipse Obscuration 1.07989 Gamma 0.69635 Sun Right Ascension 09h18m02.6s Sun Declination +15°44'00.4" Sun Semi-Diameter 15'46.9" Sun Equatorial Horizontal Parallax 08.7" Moon Right Ascension 09h19m10.6s Moon Declination +16°21'57.5" Moon Semi-Diameter 16'12.5" Moon Equatorial Horizontal Parallax 0°59'29.1" ΔT -5.8 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.
+ Eclipse season of August 1896 August 9Descending node (new moon) August 23Ascending node (full moon) Total solar eclipseSolar Saros 124 Partial lunar eclipseLunar Saros 136
Related eclipses Eclipses in 1896 [Solar eclipse of February 13, 1896. February 1896 lunar eclipse. A total solar eclipse on August 9. August 1896 lunar eclipse.
Metonic Preceded by: Solar eclipse of October 20, 1892 Followed by: Solar eclipse of May 28, 1900
Tzolkinex Preceded by: Solar eclipse of June 28, 1889 Followed by: Solar eclipse of September 21, 1903
Half-Saros Preceded by: Lunar eclipse of August 3, 1887 Followed by: Lunar eclipse of August 15, 1905
Tritos Preceded by: Solar eclipse of September 8, 1885 Followed by: Solar eclipse of July 10, 1907
Solar Saros 124 Preceded by: Solar eclipse of July 29, 1878 Followed by: Solar eclipse of August 21, 1914
Inex Preceded by: Solar eclipse of August 29, 1867 Followed by: Solar eclipse of July 20, 1925
Triad Preceded by: Solar eclipse of October 9, 1809 Followed by: Solar eclipse of June 11, 1983
Solar eclipses of 1895–1899
The partial solar eclipses on March 26, 1895 and September 18, 1895 occur in the previous lunar year eclipse set, and the partial solar eclipse on December 13, 1898 occurs in the next lunar year eclipse set.
Solar eclipse series sets from 1895 to 1899 Descending node Ascending node Saros Map Gamma Saros Map Gamma 114 August 20, 1895Partial 1.3911 119 February 13, 1896Annular −0.9220 124 August 9, 1896Total 0.6964 129 February 1, 1897Annular −0.1903 134 July 29, 1897Annular −0.0640 139 January 22, 1898Total 0.5079 144 July 18, 1898Annular −0.8546 149 January 11, 1899Partial 1.1558
Saros 124
Metonic series
Tritos series
Inex series
References
External links
NASA graphics Googlemap NASA Besselian elements Corona and Coronet: Being a narrative of the Amherst Eclipse Expedition to Japan, in Mr. James's Schooner-Yacht Coronet, to Observe the Sun's Total Obscuration, 9th August, 1896, by Mabel Loomis Todd, Houghton, Mifflin and Company, publishers, 1898
Solar eclipse of August 9, 1896 in Russia