Dec. 3, 1918, Annular Solar Eclipse Belongs to Saros Series 131

Summary: The Tuesday, Dec. 3, 1918, annular solar eclipse belongs to Saros series 131, a family of 70 similar solar eclipses.

The Northern Hemisphere's partial solar eclipse of Aug. 1, 1125, opened Saros series 131's lineup of 70 solar eclipses; Eclipse Predictions by Fred Espenak (NASA's GSFC), via NASA Eclipse Web Site

The Tuesday, Dec. 3, 1918, annular solar eclipse belongs to Saros series 131, which comprises 70 solar eclipses with similar geometries.

The solar Saros cycle unites solar eclipses with similar geometries into families, known as series. For example, occurrence at the same lunar node typifies all solar eclipses in a particular Saros series. The set of ascending and descending lunar nodes represents the two intersections of the lunar orbit with Earth's orbit. The ascending node is connected with lunar passage to the north of Earth's orbit. The descending node is associated with lunar passage to the south of Earth's orbit.

All Saros series 131 solar eclipses occur at the moon's ascending node. As such, each subsequent eclipse in the series exhibits southward movement away from the node.

A Saros cycle continues for approximately 6,585.3 days (18 years 11 days 8 hours). Specifically, Saros series 131 has a continuation 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. Saros series 131 claims 13 centuries, from the 12th to the 24th centuries.

Saros series 131 comprises 29 partial solar eclipses, six total solar eclipses, five hybrid solar eclipses and 30 annular solar eclipses. The cycle's 70 solar eclipses are distributed across five same eclipse sets. The first set presents 22 of Saros series 131's 29 partial solar eclipses. The second set is composed of the cycle's six total solar eclipses. The third set offers the cycle's five hybrid solar eclipses. The fourth set contains the cycle's 30 annular solar eclipses. The fifth and last set features the last seven of the cycle's 29 partial solar eclipses.

Saros series 131 opened Aug. 1, 1125, with a partial solar eclipse in the Northern Hemisphere. Saros series 131 will close Tuesday, Sept. 2, 2369, with a partial solar eclipse in the Southern Hemisphere. The track of the Saros series 131 opener's southern setting to the Saros series 131 closer's northern locale corresponds with the southward movement of subsequent eclipses away from the ascending lunar node.

The Tuesday, Dec. 3, 1918, annular solar eclipse numbered as 45th in the Saros series 131 lineup of 70 solar eclipses. The December 1918 solar event occurred as 12th in the Saros series 131's 30-member annular solar eclipse set.

The predecessor of the December 1918 annular solar eclipse was the annular solar eclipse of Thursday, Nov. 22, 1900. The November 1900 annular eclipse occurred as 44th in the Saros series 131 lineup of 70 solar eclipses and as 11th in the Saros series 131's set of 30 annular solar eclipses.

The successor of the December 1918 annular solar eclipse was the annular solar eclipse of Sunday, Dec. 13, 1936. The December 1936 annular eclipse numbered as 46th in the Saros series 131 lineup of 70 solar eclipses and as 13th in the Saros series 131's 30-member annular solar eclipse set.

The Saros series 131 set of 30 annular solar eclipses traverses six centuries, from the 18th century to the 23rd century. The annular solar eclipse of Sunday, Aug. 4, 1720, opened the Saros series 131 set of 30 annular solar eclipses. The August 1720 annular eclipse numbered as 34th in the Saros series 131 lineup of 70 solar eclipses. The annular solar eclipse of Sunday, June 18, 2243, will close the set as Saros series 131's 30th and last annular solar eclipse. The June 2243 annular eclipse will appear as 63rd in the Saros series 131 lineup of 70 solar eclipses.

The NASA Eclipse Web Site's extreme durations predicted by Fred Espenak identify the annular solar eclipse of Monday, Jan. 26, 2009, as the longest annular solar eclipse in Saros series 131. The January 2009 annular eclipse had a duration of 7 minutes 54 seconds. The January 2009 annular eclipse numbered as 17th in the 30-member set of annular solar eclipses and as 50th in the Saros series 131 lineup of 70 solar eclipses. The set's opener, the Sunday, Aug. 4, 1720, annular eclipse, qualifies, with a duration of only 27 seconds, as the shortest annular solar eclipse in Saros series 131.

The takeaways for the Tuesday, Dec. 3, 1918, annular solar eclipse belonging to Saros series 131 are that the event occurred as 12th in Saros series 131's set of 30 annular solar eclipses; and that the December 1918 annular solar eclipse numbered as 45th in the Saros series 131 lineup of 70 eclipses.

The Southern Hemisphere's partial solar eclipse of Tuesday, Sept. 2, 2369, will close Saros series 131'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 Aug. 1, 1125, opened Saros series 131'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/1101-1200/1125-08-01.gif

The Southern Hemisphere's partial solar eclipse of Tuesday, Sept. 2, 2369, will close Saros series 131'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/2301-2400/2369-09-02.gif

For further information:

Espenak, Fred. "Annular 1720 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 131.
Available @ https://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/5MCSEmap/1701-1800/1720-08-04.gif

Espenak, Fred. "Annular 1900 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 131.
Available @ https://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/5MCSEmap/1801-1900/1900-11-22.gif

Espenak, Fred. "Annular 1918 Dec 03." NASA Eclipse Web Site > Solar Eclipses > Decade Tables of Solar Eclipses > Solar Eclipses: 1911-1920 > Solar Eclipse Catalogs > Saros Catalog of Solar Eclipses: Saros 0-180 > Summary of Saros Series 125 to 150 > Saros Series 131 > Catalog of Solar Eclipses of Saros 131.
Available @ https://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/5MCSEmap/1901-2000/1918-12-03.gif

Espenak, Fred. "Annular 1936 Dec 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 131.
Available @ https://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/5MCSEmap/1901-2000/1936-12-13.gif

Espenak, Fred. "Annular 2009 Jan 26." NASA Eclipse Web Site > Solar Eclipses > Solar Eclipse Catalogs > Catalog of Solar Eclipse Saros Series > Summary of Saros Series 125 to 150 > Saros Series 131.
Available @ https://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/5MCSEmap/2001-2100/2009-01-26.gif

Espenak, Fred. "Annular 2243 Jun 18." NASA Eclipse Web Site > Solar Eclipses > Solar Eclipse Catalogs > Catalog of Solar Eclipse Saros Series > Summary of Saros Series 125 to 150 > Saros Series 131.
Available @ https://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/5MCSEmap/2201-2300/2243-06-18.gif

Espenak, Fred. "Annular Solar Eclipse of 1918 Dec 03." EclipseWise Website > Solar Eclipses > Solar Eclipse Links > Decade Pages of Solar Eclipses > Solar Eclipses: 1911-1920.
Available @ http://www.eclipsewise.com/solar/SEprime/1901-2000/SE1918Dec03Aprime.html

Espenak, Fred. "Annular Solar Eclipse of 1918 Dec 03." NASA Eclipse Web Site > Solar Eclipses > Decade Tables of Solar Eclipses > Solar Eclipses: 1911-1920.
Available @ https://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/SEplot/SEplot1901/SE1918Dec03A.GIF

Espenak, Fred. "Partial 1125 Aug 01." NASA Eclipse Web Site > Solar Eclipses > Solar Eclipse Catalogs > Catalog of Solar Eclipse Saros Series > Summary of Saros Series 125 to 150 > Saros Series 131.
Available @ https://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/5MCSEmap/1101-1200/1125-08-01.gif

Espenak, Fred. "Partial 2369 Sep 02." NASA Eclipse Web Site > Solar Eclipses > Solar Eclipse Catalogs > Catalog of Solar Eclipse Saros Series > Summary of Saros Series 125 to 150 > Saros Series 131.
Available @ https://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/5MCSEmap/2301-2400/2369-09-02.gif

Espenak, Fred. "Saros 131." 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/SEsaros131.html

Espenak, Fred. "Saros Series 131." 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/SEsaros131.html

Marriner, Derdriu. "Dec. 3, 1918, Annular Eclipse Was Second of Two 1918 Solar Eclipses." Earth and Space News. Wednesday, Dec. 8, 2021.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2021/12/dec-3-1918-annular-eclipse-was-second.html