Solar eclipse of September 7, 1858

A total solar eclipse occurred at the Moon's descending node of orbit on Tuesday, September 7, 1858, with a magnitude of 1.0210. 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 2.5 days after perigee (on September 4, 1858, at 2:10 UTC), the Moon's apparent diameter was larger.

The path of totality was visible from parts of modern-day Peru, Brazil, and northern Bolivia. A partial solar eclipse was also visible for parts of Central America, the Caribbean, South America, Antarctica, and Southern Africa.

Gallery

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 1858

• A partial lunar eclipse on February 27.
• An annular solar eclipse on March 15.
• A partial lunar eclipse on August 24.
• An total solar eclipse on September 7.

Metonic

• Preceded by: Solar eclipse of November 20, 1854
• Followed by: Solar eclipse of June 27, 1862

Tzolkinex

• Preceded by: Solar eclipse of July 28, 1851
• Followed by: Solar eclipse of October 19, 1865

Half-Saros

• Preceded by: Lunar eclipse of September 2, 1849
• Followed by: Lunar eclipse of September 14, 1867

Tritos

• Preceded by: Solar eclipse of October 9, 1847
• Followed by: Solar eclipse of August 7, 1869

Solar Saros 142

• Preceded by: Solar eclipse of August 27, 1840
• Followed by: Solar eclipse of September 17, 1876

Inex

• Preceded by: Solar eclipse of September 28, 1829
• Followed by: Solar eclipse of August 19, 1887

Triad

• Preceded by: Solar eclipse of November 6, 1771
• Followed by: Solar eclipse of July 9, 1945

Solar eclipses of 1856–1859

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 3, 1859 and July 29, 1859 occur in the next lunar year eclipse set.

Saros 142

This eclipse is a part of Saros series 142, repeating every 18 years, 11 days, and containing 72 events. The series started with a partial solar eclipse on April 17, 1624. It contains a hybrid eclipse on July 14, 1768, and total eclipses from July 25, 1786 through October 29, 2543. There are no annular eclipses in this set. The series ends at member 72 as a partial eclipse on June 5, 2904. 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 will be produced by member 38 at 6 minutes, 34 seconds on May 28, 2291. 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.

The partial solar eclipse on October 24, 2098 (part of Saros 164) is also a part of this series but is not included in the table below.

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

• by Lieut. J. M. Gillis, Published by the Smithsonian Institution, Washington, Smithsonian Contributions to Knowledge, vol. 11, April 1859
• Mabel Loomis Todd (1900). . Little, Brown.