Solar eclipse of July 10, 1972

Last updated
Solar eclipse of July 10, 1972
SE1972Jul10T.png
Map
Type of eclipse
NatureTotal
Gamma 0.6872
Magnitude 1.0379
Maximum eclipse
Duration156 s (2 min 36 s)
Coordinates 63°30′N94°12′W / 63.5°N 94.2°W / 63.5; -94.2
Max. width of band175 km (109 mi)
Times (UTC)
Greatest eclipse19:46:38
References
Saros 126 (45 of 72)
Catalog # (SE5000) 9448

A total solar eclipse occurred on Monday, July 10, 1972. 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 only 2.9 days after perigee (Perigee on July 7, 1972), the Moon's diameter was relatively large.

Contents

It was visible as a total eclipse along a path of totality that began in Sea of Okhotsk and traversed the far eastern portions of the Soviet Union (which now belongs to Russia) on July 11 local time, northern Alaska in the United States, Northern Canada, eastern Quebec and the Canadian Maritimes on July 10 local time. A partial eclipse was visible over Siberia, Canada and the northern and eastern United States.

The eclipse was mostly seen on July 10, 1972, except for the Asian part of Soviet Union and Japanese island Hokkaido, where either a partial or a total eclipse was seen on July 11 local time, and part of the Soviet Union along the coast of Kara Sea, where a partial eclipse started on July 10, passing midnight and ended on July 11 due to the midnight sun.

Observations

A team of the Academy of Sciences of the Soviet Union observed the total solar eclipse in Russkaya Koshka, Magadan Oblast (now separated into Chukotka Autonomous Okrug) on the coast of Gulf of Anadyr. The weather condition was clear, and the team successfully took images of the corona and made polarization observations to study its structure and physical characteristics [1] . In Nova Scotia, Canada, the eclipse was clouded out and could not be observed. Besides that, 850 passengers boarded a cruise ship from New York City and saw a total eclipse successfully in North Atlantic Ocean. Many scientists also boarded the ship and did research, and some also gave classes in meteorology, oceanography, etc., which almost all passengers attended [2] [3] .

"You're So Vain"

The eclipse is referenced in the lyrics of Carly Simon's 1972 hit song "You're So Vain." The subject of the song, after witnessing his racehorse win "naturally" at the Saratoga Race Course, flies his Learjet to Nova Scotia to see the eclipse; Simon uses the two phenomena as examples of how the subject seems to be "where (he) should be all the time." Simon released the song four months after the eclipse. [4]

Eclipses in 1972

Solar eclipses of 1971–1974

This eclipse is a member of a semester series. An eclipse in a semester series of solar eclipses repeats approximately every 177 days and 4 hours (a semester) at alternating nodes of the Moon's orbit. [5]

Note: Partial solar eclipses on February 25, 1971 and August 20, 1971 occur in the next lunar year set.

Solar eclipse series sets from 1971 to 1974
Descending node Ascending node
SarosMapGammaSarosMapGamma
116 SE1971Jul22P.png
1971 July 22
Partial
1.51298121 SE1972Jan16A.png
1972 January 16
Annular
−0.93651
126 SE1972Jul10T.png
1972 July 10
Total
0.68719131 SE1973Jan04A.png
1973 January 4
Annular
−0.26441
136 SE1973Jun30T.png
1973 June 30
Total
−0.07853141 SE1973Dec24A.png
1973 December 24
Annular
0.41710
146 SE1974Jun20T.png
1974 June 20
Total
−0.82388151 SE1974Dec13P.png
1974 December 13
Partial
1.07974

Saros 126

It is a part of Saros cycle 126, repeating every 18 years, 11 days, containing 72 events. The series started with partial solar eclipse on March 10, 1179. It contains annular eclipses from June 4, 1323 through April 4, 1810, hybrid eclipses from April 14, 1828 through May 6, 1864 and total eclipses from May 17, 1882 through August 23, 2044. The series ends at member 72 as a partial eclipse on May 3, 2459. The longest duration of central eclipse (annular or total) was 6 minutes, 30 seconds of annularity on June 26, 1359. The longest duration of totality was 2 minutes, 36 seconds on July 10, 1972. All eclipses in this series occurs at the Moon’s descending node.

Series members 42–52 occur between 1901 and 2100
424344
SE1918Jun08T.png
June 8, 1918
SE1936Jun19T.png
June 19, 1936
SE1954Jun30T.png
June 30, 1954
454647
SE1972Jul10T.png
July 10, 1972
SE1990Jul22T.png
July 22, 1990
SE2008Aug01T.png
August 1, 2008
484950
SE2026Aug12T.png
August 12, 2026
SE2044Aug23T.png
August 23, 2044
SE2062Sep03P.png
September 3, 2062
5152
SE2080Sep13P.png
September 13, 2080
SE2098Sep25P.png
September 25, 2098

Metonic series

The metonic series repeats eclipses every 19 years (6939.69 days), lasting about 5 cycles. Eclipses occur in nearly the same calendar date. In addition, the octon subseries repeats 1/5 of that or every 3.8 years (1387.94 days). All eclipses in this table occur at the Moon's descending node.

21 eclipse events, progressing from north to south between July 11, 1953 and July 11, 2029
July 10–12April 29–30February 15–16December 4–5September 21–23
116118120122124
SE1953Jul11P.png
July 11, 1953
SE1957Apr30A.png
April 30, 1957
SE1961Feb15T.png
February 15, 1961
SE1964Dec04P.png
December 4, 1964
SE1968Sep22T.png
September 22, 1968
126128130132134
SE1972Jul10T.png
July 10, 1972
SE1976Apr29A.png
April 29, 1976
SE1980Feb16T.png
February 16, 1980
SE1983Dec04A.png
December 4, 1983
SE1987Sep23A.png
September 23, 1987
136138140142144
SE1991Jul11T.png
July 11, 1991
SE1995Apr29A.png
April 29, 1995
SE1999Feb16A.png
February 16, 1999
SE2002Dec04T.png
December 4, 2002
SE2006Sep22A.png
September 22, 2006
146148150152154
SE2010Jul11T.png
July 11, 2010
SE2014Apr29A.png
April 29, 2014
SE2018Feb15P.png
February 15, 2018
SE2021Dec04T.png
December 4, 2021
SE2025Sep21P.png
September 21, 2025
156158160162164
SE2029Jul11P.png
July 11, 2029


Notes

  1. "ЗАТМЕНИЕ 30 ИЮНЯ 1972 г." (in Russian). IZMIRAN. Archived from the original on 22 June 2020.
  2. "Voyage to Darkness". Pedas Family. Archived from the original on 4 April 2016.
  3. Philip G. Schrag (30 July 1972). "For Two Extremely Short Minutes Everyone Gaped Into the Sky". New York Times . Archived from the original on 4 April 2016.
  4. "YOU'RE SO VAIN: THE TRUTH BEHIND CARLY SIMON'S MYSTERIOUS BREAKUP SONG". This Is Dig!. Warner Music Group. 2022-11-08. Retrieved 11 April 2024.
  5. van Gent, R.H. "Solar- and Lunar-Eclipse Predictions from Antiquity to the Present". A Catalogue of Eclipse Cycles. Utrecht University. Retrieved 6 October 2018.

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References