Dec. 2, 1937, Annular Solar Eclipse Belongs to Saros Series 141

Summary: The Thursday, Dec. 2, 1937, annular solar eclipse belongs to Saros series 141, a family of 70 similar solar eclipses.

The Northern Hemisphere's partial solar eclipse of May 19, 1613, opened Saros series 141's lineup of 70 solar eclipses; Eclipse Predictions by Fred Espenak (NASA's GSFC), via NASA Eclipse Web Site

The Thursday, Dec. 2, 1937, annular solar eclipse belongs to Saros series 141, which comprises 70 solar eclipses with similar geometries.

The solar Saros cycle correlates solar eclipses with similar geometries into families, known as series. For example, all solar eclipses in a particular Saros series share same-node occurrence. The set of ascending and descending lunar nodes signals the lunar orbit's two intersecting points with Earth's orbit. The ascending node corresponds to lunar passage to the north of Earth's orbit. The descending node relates to lunar passage to the south of Earth's orbit.

All Saros series 141 solar eclipses share their occurrence at the moon's ascending node. As such, each succeeding eclipse in the series evinces southward movement away from the ascending node.

A Saros cycle spans approximately 6,585.3 days (18 years 11 days 8 hours). Specifically, Saros series 141 has a lifetime of 1,244.08 years, according to NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) Eclipse Web Site's eclipse predictions by NASA astrophysicist, now retired, Fred Espenak. Thirteen centuries elapse between Saros series 141's opening, 17th century and closing, 29th century.

Saros series 141 comprises 29 partial solar eclipses and 41 annular solar eclipses. The cycle's 70 solar eclipses are ordered into three sets. The first set features the first seven of the 29 partial solar eclipses in Saros series 141. The second set contains the cycle's 41 annular solar eclipses. The third and last set presents the last 22 of the 29 partial solar eclipses in Saros series 141.

Saros series 141 opened May 19, 1613, with a partial solar eclipse in the Northern Hemisphere. Saros series 141 will close Wednesday, June 13, 2857, with a partial solar eclipse in the Southern Hemisphere. The shift from the Saros series 141 opener's northern locale to the Saros series 141 closer's southern placement reflects the southward movement of subsequent eclipses away from the ascending lunar node.

The Thursday, Dec. 2, 1937, annular solar eclipse numbered as 19th in the Saros series 141 lineup of 70 solar eclipses. The December 1937 solar event appeared as 12th in the Saros series 141's 41-member annular solar eclipse set.

The predecessor of the December 1937 annular solar eclipse was the annular solar eclipse of Sunday, Nov. 22, 1919. The November 1919 annular eclipse occurred as 18th in the Saros series 141 lineup of 70 solar eclipses and as 11th in the Saros series 141's set of 41 annular solar eclipses.

The successor of the December 1937 annular solar eclipse was the annular solar eclipse of Wednesday, Dec. 14, 1955. The December 1955 annular eclipse numbered as 20th in the Saros series 141 lineup of 70 solar eclipses and as 13th in the Saros series 141's 41-member annular solar eclipse set.

The Saros series 141 set of 41 annular solar eclipses encompasses eight centuries, from the 18th century to the 25th century. The annular solar eclipse of Tuesday, Aug. 4, 1739, opened the Saros series 141 set of 41 annular solar eclipses. The August 1739 annular eclipse occurred as eighth in the Saros series 141 lineup of 70 solar eclipses. The annular solar eclipse of Thursday, Oct. 14, 2460, will close the set as Saros series 141's 41st and last annular solar eclipse. The October 2460 annular eclipse will number as 48th in the Saros series 141 lineup of 70 solar eclipses.

The NASA Eclipse Web Site's extreme durations predicted by Fred Espenak identify the annular solar eclipse of Wednesday, Dec. 14, 1955, as the longest annular solar eclipse in Saros series 141. The December 1955 annular eclipse had a duration of 12 minutes 9 seconds. The annular solar eclipse of Saturday, Oct. 4, 2442, is credited as the shortest annular solar eclipse in Saros series 141. The October 2442 annular eclipse will have a duration of 1 minute 8 seconds. The October 2442 annular solar eclipse will appear, at number 40, as the set's next-to-the-last member and will number as 47th in the Saros series 141 lineup of 70 solar eclipses.

The takeaways for the Thursday, Dec. 2, 1937, annular solar eclipse belonging to Saros series 141 are that the event occurred as 12th in Saros series 141's set of 41 annular solar eclipses; that the December 1937 annular solar eclipse numbered as 19th in the Saros series 141 lineup of 70 eclipses; and that the December 1937 annular solar eclipse's successor, the annular solar eclipse of Wednesday, Dec. 14, 1955, qualified, with a duration of 12 minutes 9 seconds, as the Saros series 141's longest annular eclipse.

The Southern Hemisphere's partial solar eclipse of Wednesday, June 13, 2857, will close Saros series 141's lineup of 70 solar eclipses: 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:

The Northern Hemisphere's partial solar eclipse of May 19, 1613, opened Saros series 141's lineup of 70 solar eclipses; Eclipse Predictions by Fred Espenak (NASA's GSFC), via NASA Eclipse Web Site @ https://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/5MCSEmap/1601-1700/1613-05-19.gif

The Southern Hemisphere's partial solar eclipse of Wednesday, June 13, 2857, will close Saros series 141's lineup of 70 solar eclipses: Eclipse Predictions by Fred Espenak (NASA's GSFC), via NASA Eclipse Web Site @ https://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/5MCSEmap/2801-2900/2857-06-13.gif

For further information:

Espenak, Fred. "Annular 1739 Aug 04." NASA Eclipse Web Site > Solar Eclipses > Solar Eclipse Catalogs > Catalog of Solar Eclipse Saros Series > Summary of Saros Series 125 to 150 > Saros Series 141.
Available @ https://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/5MCSEmap/1701-1800/1739-08-04.gif

Espenak, Fred. "Annular 1919 Nov 22." NASA Eclipse Web Site > Solar Eclipses > Solar Eclipse Catalogs > Catalog of Solar Eclipse Saros Series > Summary of Saros Series 125 to 150 > Saros Series 141.
Available @ https://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/5MCSEmap/1901-2000/1919-11-22.gif

Espenak, Fred. "Annular 1955 Dec 14." NASA Eclipse Web Site > Solar Eclipses > Solar Eclipse Catalogs > Catalog of Solar Eclipse Saros Series > Summary of Saros Series 125 to 150 > Saros Series 141.
Available @ https://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/5MCSEmap/1901-2000/1955-12-14.gif

Espenak, Fred. "Annular 2442 Oct 04." NASA Eclipse Web Site > Solar Eclipses > Solar Eclipse Catalogs > Catalog of Solar Eclipse Saros Series > Summary of Saros Series 125 to 150 > Saros Series 141.
Available @ https://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/5MCSEmap/2401-2500/2442-10-04.gif

Espenak, Fred. "Annular 2460 Oct 14." NASA Eclipse Web Site > Solar Eclipses > Solar Eclipse Catalogs > Catalog of Solar Eclipse Saros Series > Summary of Saros Series 125 to 150 > Saros Series 141.
Available @ https://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/5MCSEmap/2401-2500/2460-10-14.gif

Espenak, Fred. "Partial 1613 May 19." NASA Eclipse Web Site > Solar Eclipses > Solar Eclipse Catalogs > Catalog of Solar Eclipse Saros Series > Summary of Saros Series 125 to 150 > Saros Series 141.
Available @ https://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/5MCSEmap/1601-1700/1613-05-19.gif

Espenak, Fred. "Partial 2857 Jun 13." NASA Eclipse Web Site > Solar Eclipses > Solar Eclipse Catalogs > Catalog of Solar Eclipse Saros Series > Summary of Saros Series 125 to 150 > Saros Series 141.
Available @ https://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/5MCSEmap/2801-2900/2857-06-13.gif

Espenak, Fred. "Saros 141." EclipseWise > Solar Eclipses > Solar Eclipse Links > Catalog of Solar Eclipses of Saros -33 to 190 > Summary of Saros 117 to 146.
Available @ http://www.eclipsewise.com/solar/SEsaros/SEsaros141.html

Espenak, Fred. "Saros Series 141." NASA Eclipse Web Site > Solar Eclipses > Solar Eclipse Catalogs > Catalog of Solar Eclipse Saros Series > Summary of Saros Series 125 to 150.
Available @ https://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/SEsaros/SEsaros141.html

Marriner, Derdriu. "Dec. 2, 1937, Annular Eclipse Was Second of Two 1937 Solar Eclipses." Earth and Space News. Wednesday, Dec. 22, 2021.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2021/12/dec-2-1937-annular-eclipse-was-second.html