Solar eclipse of January 3, 1908

A total solar eclipse occurred at the Moon's descending node of orbit between Friday, January 3 and Saturday, January 4, 1908, with a magnitude of 1.0437. 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 14 hours before perigee (on January 4, 1908, at 12:30 UTC), the Moon's apparent diameter was larger.

Totality was visible from Ebon Atoll in German New Guinea (now in Marshall Islands), British Western Pacific Territories (the part now belonging to Kiribati), Line Islands (now in Kiribati), Phoenix Islands (now in Kiribati) on January 4 (Saturday), and Costa Rica on January 3 (Friday). A partial eclipse was visible for parts of northern Oceania, Hawaii, southern North America, Central America, the western Caribbean, and western South America.

Observations

The eclipse was observed by astronomer William Wallace Campbell of Lick Observatory, viewed from Flint Island, Kiribati, an uninhabited island in the Line Islands. The team of Lick Observatory departed from San Francisco on November 22, 1907, and arrived in Papeete, Tahiti Island, the capital of French Polynesia on December 4. After making preparations of supplies and logistics personnel, it departed again on the evening of December 7 and arrived at Flint Island on the afternoon of 9 December.

Astronomers from the Royal Astronomical Society, Sydney Observatory and a party from Australia and New Zealand which included Francis McClean and Henry Winkelmann also observed the total eclipse near the observation site of Lick Observatory. The team successfully took images of the corona.

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.

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.

Related eclipses

Eclipses in 1908

• A total solar eclipse on January 3.
• A penumbral lunar eclipse on January 18.
• A penumbral lunar eclipse on June 14.
• An annular solar eclipse on June 28.
• A penumbral lunar eclipse on July 13.
• A penumbral lunar eclipse on December 7.
• A hybrid solar eclipse on December 23.

Metonic

• Preceded by: Solar eclipse of March 17, 1904
• Followed by: Solar eclipse of October 22, 1911

Tzolkinex

• Preceded by: Solar eclipse of November 22, 1900
• Followed by: Solar eclipse of February 14, 1915

Half-Saros

• Preceded by: Lunar eclipse of December 27, 1898
• Followed by: Lunar eclipse of January 8, 1917

Tritos

• Preceded by: Solar eclipse of February 1, 1897
• Followed by: Solar eclipse of December 3, 1918

Solar Saros 130

• Preceded by: Solar eclipse of December 22, 1889
• Followed by: Solar eclipse of January 14, 1926

Inex

• Preceded by: Solar eclipse of January 22, 1879
• Followed by: Solar eclipse of December 13, 1936

Triad

• Preceded by: Solar eclipse of March 4, 1821
• Followed by: Solar eclipse of November 3, 1994

Solar eclipses of 1906–1909

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.

The partial solar eclipses on February 23, 1906 and August 20, 1906 occur in the previous lunar year eclipse set.

Saros 130

This eclipse is a part of Saros series 130, repeating every 18 years, 11 days, and containing 73 events. The series started with a partial solar eclipse on August 20, 1096. It contains total eclipses from April 5, 1475 through July 18, 2232. There are no annular or hybrid eclipses in this set. The series ends at member 73 as a partial eclipse on October 25, 2394. Its eclipses are tabulated in three columns; every third eclipse in the same column is one exeligmos apart, so they all cast shadows over approximately the same parts of the Earth.

The longest duration of totality was produced by member 30 at 6 minutes, 41 seconds on July 11, 1619. All eclipses in this series occur at the Moon’s descending node of orbit.

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.

Tritos series

This eclipse is a part of a tritos cycle, repeating at alternating nodes every 135 synodic months (≈ 3986.63 days, or 11 years minus 1 month). Their appearance and longitude are irregular due to a lack of synchronization with the anomalistic month (period of perigee), but groupings of 3 tritos cycles (≈ 33 years minus 3 months) come close (≈ 434.044 anomalistic months), so eclipses are similar in these groupings.

Inex series

This eclipse is a part of the long period inex cycle, repeating at alternating nodes, every 358 synodic months (≈ 10,571.95 days, or 29 years minus 20 days). Their appearance and longitude are irregular due to a lack of synchronization with the anomalistic month (period of perigee). However, groupings of 3 inex cycles (≈ 87 years minus 2 months) comes close (≈ 1,151.02 anomalistic months), so eclipses are similar in these groupings.

Notes

• Eclipse Predictions by Fred Espenak, NASA/GSFC