Monday, Dec. 14, Total Solar Eclipse Belongs to Saros Series 142

Summary: The Monday, Dec. 14, total solar eclipse belongs to Saros cycle 142, a series of 72 similar solar eclipses.

Partial solar eclipse of Saturday, April 17, 1624, opened Saros solar series 142’s lineup of 72 solar eclipses: "Permission is freely granted to reproduce this data when accompanied by an acknowledgment, Eclipse Predictions by Fred Espenak (NASA's GSFC)," via NASA Eclipse Web Site

The Monday, Dec. 14, total solar eclipse belongs to Saros series 142, which comprises 72 solar eclipses with similar geometries.

December’s total solar eclipse begins as a partial eclipse Monday, Dec. 14, at 13:33:47.7 Universal Time (8:33 a.m. Eastern Standard Time; 10:33 a.m. Chile Summer Time; 10:33 a.m. Argentina Time), according to NASA’s Eclipse Web Site. At 16:13:22.9 UT (11:13 a.m. EST; 1:13 p.m. CLST and ART), the event stages its greatest eclipse, the instant of the closest passage of the lunar shadow cone’s axis to Earth’s center. The eclipse ends at 18:53:59.8 UT (1:53 p.m. EST; 3:53 p.m. CLST and ART).

June’s annular solar eclipse appears as number 23 in the lineup of 72 solar eclipses offered by Saros series 142. The similar geometries of these 72 solar eclipses qualifies them as a family, known as a series.

The shared geometry of occurrence at the moon’s descending node characterizes Saros 142 solar eclipses. Each subsequent eclipse in the series exhibits more northward movement with respect to the descending node.

The moon’s descending node pairs with an ascending node as signals of lunar orbit intersections with Earth’s orbit. The nodal pair arise from the approximately 5.1 degree tilt of the lunar orbit with respect to Earth’s orbit. The descending node marks the lunar orbital crossing to the south of Earth’s orbit. The ascending node announces the lunar orbital crossing to the north of Earth’s orbit.

The Saros cycle of approximately 6,585.3 days (18 years 11 days 8 hours) informs the periodicity and recurrence of solar eclipses. Each Saros series consists of 70 or more eclipses and typically lasts for 12 to 13 centuries.

Saros solar series 142 endures for 1,288.08 years. The series spans 14 centuries, from the 17th to the 30th centuries.

Saros series 142 follows a sequence profile of eight partial solar eclipses, one hybrid solar eclipse, 43 total solar eclipses and 20 partial solar eclipses. Total solar eclipses claim the greatest frequency, with 43 occurrences. Partial solar eclipses occupies second place, with a total of 28 occurrences.

The 17th century’s partial solar eclipse of Saturday, April 17, 1624, opened Saros solar series 142. This Southern Hemisphere event staged its greatest eclipse, with coordinates of 71.25 degrees south latitude at 23.1 west longitude, over the Southern Ocean’s Weddell Sea, offshore of East Antarctica.

The 30th century’s partial solar eclipse of Thursday, June 5, 2904, closes Saros solar series 142. This Northern Hemisphere event’s greatest eclipse will occur, with coordinates of 67.5 north latitude at 93.8 west longitude, over Nunuvut Territory’s Kitikmeot Region in Northern Canada.

The Monday, Dec. 14, total solar eclipse appears as number 14 within Saros solar series 142’s massive sequence of 43 total solar eclipses. This mostly Southern Hemisphere event’s greatest eclipse will occur, with coordinates of 40.3 south latitude at 67.9 west longitude, in south-central Argentina, over central-south Río Negro Province’s Nueve de Julio Department.

The predecessor of December’s solar eclipse in Saros series 142 occurred Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2002. This mostly Southern Hemisphere event staged its greatest eclipse, with coordinates of 39.5 south latitude at 59.6 east longitude, over the South Indian Ocean, west of the French Southern and Antarctic Lands’ Amsterdam Island (Île Amsterdam).

The successor of December’s solar eclipse in Saros series 142 will appear Sunday, Dec. 26, 2038. This Southern Hemisphere event’s greatest eclipse, with coordinates of 40.3 degrees south latitude at 164.0 east longitude, will take place over the South Pacific Ocean’s marginal Tasman Sea. This solar eclipse numbers as 15 within the sequence of 43 total solar eclipses and as 24 in the lineup of 72 solar eclipses in Saros solar series 142.

The takeaway for the Monday, Dec. 14, total solar eclipse is that the year’s second of two solar eclipses belongs to Saros solar series 142 and occurs as number 23 in the lineup of 72 solar eclipses in the series.

Partial solar eclipse of Thursday, June 5, 2904, will close Saros solar series 142’s lineup of 72 solar eclipses: "Permission is freely granted to reproduce this data when accompanied by an acknowledgment, Eclipse Predictions by Fred Espenak (NASA's GSFC)," via NASA Eclipse Web Site

Acknowledgment

My special thanks to talented artists and photographers/concerned organizations who make their fine images available on the internet.

Image credits:

Partial solar eclipse of Saturday, April 17, 1624, opened Saros solar series 142’s lineup of 72 solar eclipses: "Permission is freely granted to reproduce this data when accompanied by an acknowledgment, Eclipse Predictions by Fred Espenak (NASA's GSFC)," via NASA Eclipse Web Site @ https://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/5MCSEmap/1601-1700/1624-04-17.gif

Partial solar eclipse of Thursday, June 5, 2904, will close Saros solar series 142’s lineup of 72 solar eclipses: "Permission is freely granted to reproduce this data when accompanied by an acknowledgment, Eclipse Predictions by Fred Espenak (NASA's GSFC)," via NASA Eclipse Web Site @ https://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/5MCSEmap/2901-3000/2904-06-05.gif

For further information:

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Available via NASA Eclipse Web Site @ https://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/5MCSEmap/1601-1700/1624-04-17.gif

Espenak, Fred. “Partial 2904 Jun 05.” NASA Eclipse Web Site > Solar Eclipses > Solar Eclipse Catalogs > Five Millennium Catalog of Solar Eclipses -1999 to +3000 > Five Millennium Catalog of Solar Eclipses: -1999 to +3000 (2000 BCE to 3000 CE): 2901 to 3000 > 11660 2904 Jun 05.
Available via NASA Eclipse Web Site @ https://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/5MCSEmap/2901-3000/2904-06-05.gif

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Available via NASA Eclipse Web Site @ https://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/SEsaros/SEsaros142.html

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Available via EclipseWise @ http://eclipsewise.com/solar/SEprime/2001-2100/SE2020Dec14Tprime.html

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Available via NASA Eclipse Web Site @ https://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/5MCSEmap/2001-2100/2002-12-04.gif

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Available via NASA Eclipse Web Site @ https://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/5MCSEmap/2001-2100/2020-12-14.gif

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Available via NASA Eclipse Web Site @ https://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/5MCSEmap/2001-2100/2038-12-26.gif

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Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2020/12/monday-dec-14-total-solar-eclipse-is.html

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Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2020/06/sunday-june-21-annular-solar-eclipse.html

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Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2020/06/sunday-june-21-annular-solar-eclipse-is.html

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