A total solar eclipse occurred at the Moon's ascending node of orbit on Thursday, October 12, 1939, with a magnitude of 1.0266. 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 1.8 days after perigee (on October 11, 1939, at 2:30 UTC), the Moon's apparent diameter was larger.
Totality was visible for a part of Antarctica. A partial eclipse was visible for parts of Eastern Australia, Oceania, extreme southern South America, and Antarctica.
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.
+October 12, 1939 Solar Eclipse Times Event Time (UTC) First Penumbral External Contact 1939 October 12 at 18:35:06.1 UTC First Umbral External Contact 1939 October 12 at 20:14:48.5 UTC First Central Line 1939 October 12 at 20:17:38.1 UTC First Umbral Internal Contact 1939 October 12 at 20:20:50.7 UTC Ecliptic Conjunction 1939 October 12 at 20:30:28.6 UTC Greatest Duration 1939 October 12 at 20:39:46.3 UTC Greatest Eclipse 1939 October 12 at 20:40:23.4 UTC Equatorial Conjunction 1939 October 12 at 21:11:17.5 UTC Last Umbral Internal Contact 1939 October 12 at 20:59:35.3 UTC Last Central Line 1939 October 12 at 21:02:46.1 UTC Last Umbral External Contact 1939 October 12 at 21:05:33.9 UTC Last Penumbral External Contact 1939 October 12 at 22:45:29.8 UTC
+October 12, 1939 Solar Eclipse Parameters Parameter Value Eclipse Magnitude 1.02657 Eclipse Obscuration 1.05385 Gamma −0.97370 Sun Right Ascension 13h08m41.4s Sun Declination -07°17'47.8" Sun Semi-Diameter 16'01.7" Sun Equatorial Horizontal Parallax 08.8" Moon Right Ascension 13h07m33.1s Moon Declination -08°13'46.1" Moon Semi-Diameter 16'24.2" Moon Equatorial Horizontal Parallax 1°00'12.1" ΔT 24.3 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.
+ Eclipse season of October 1939 October 12Ascending node (new moon) October 28Descending node (full moon) Total solar eclipseSolar Saros 123 Partial lunar eclipseLunar Saros 135
Related eclipses Eclipses in 1939 An annular solar eclipse on April 19. A total lunar eclipse on May 3. A total solar eclipse on October 12. A partial lunar eclipse on October 28.
Metonic Preceded by: Solar eclipse of December 25, 1935 Followed by: Solar eclipse of August 1, 1943
Tzolkinex Preceded by: Solar eclipse of August 31, 1932 Followed by: Solar eclipse of November 23, 1946
Half-Saros Preceded by: Lunar eclipse of October 7, 1930 Followed by: Lunar eclipse of October 18, 1948
Tritos Preceded by: Solar eclipse of November 12, 1928 Followed by: Solar eclipse of September 12, 1950
Solar Saros 123 Preceded by: Solar eclipse of October 1, 1921 Followed by: Solar eclipse of October 23, 1957
Inex Preceded by: Solar eclipse of November 2, 1910 Followed by: Solar eclipse of September 22, 1968
Triad Preceded by: Solar eclipse of December 11, 1852 Followed by: Solar eclipse of August 12, 2026
Solar eclipses of 1939–1942
Saros 123
Metonic series
Tritos series
Inex series
Notes
References