Solar eclipse of February 21, 1803

A total solar eclipse occurred at the Moon's ascending node of orbit on Monday, February 21, 1803, with a magnitude of 1.0492. 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 only about 18 hours before perigee (on February 22, 1803, at 15:00 UTC), the Moon's apparent diameter was larger.[1]

Solar eclipse of February 21, 1803
Map
Type of eclipse
NatureTotal
Gamma−0.0075
Magnitude1.0492
Maximum eclipse
Duration249 s (4 min 9 s)
Coordinates11°06′S 135°54′W / 11.1°S 135.9°W / -11.1; -135.9
Max. width of band163 km (101 mi)
Times (UTC)
Greatest eclipse21:18:46
References
Saros127 (46 of 82)
Catalog # (SE5000)9047

The path of totality was visible from parts of modern-day Norfolk Island, French Polynesia, Mexico, Florida, and the Bahamas. A partial solar eclipse was also visible for parts of eastern Australia, Oceania, North America, Central America, the Caribbean, and northern South America.[2]

Eclipse details

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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.[3]

February 21, 1803 Solar Eclipse Times
Event Time (UTC)
First Penumbral External Contact 1803 February 21 at 18:39:49.4 UTC
First Umbral External Contact 1803 February 21 at 19:34:37.6 UTC
First Central Line 1803 February 21 at 19:35:27.6 UTC
First Umbral Internal Contact 1803 February 21 at 19:36:17.6 UTC
First Penumbral Internal Contact 1803 February 21 at 20:31:05.3 UTC
Greatest Duration 1803 February 21 at 21:14:41.2 UTC
Equatorial Conjunction 1803 February 21 at 21:18:22.5 UTC
Ecliptic Conjunction 1803 February 21 at 21:18:41.3 UTC
Greatest Eclipse 1803 February 21 at 21:18:45.9 UTC
Last Penumbral Internal Contact 1803 February 21 at 22:06:27.3 UTC
Last Umbral Internal Contact 1803 February 21 at 23:01:13.1 UTC
Last Central Line 1803 February 21 at 23:02:04.1 UTC
Last Umbral External Contact 1803 February 21 at 23:02:55.1 UTC
Last Penumbral External Contact 1803 February 21 at 23:57:40.3 UTC
February 21, 1803 Solar Eclipse Parameters
Parameter Value
Eclipse Magnitude 1.04920
Eclipse Obscuration 1.10083
Gamma −0.00747
Sun Right Ascension 22h17m19.4s
Sun Declination -10°39'01.5"
Sun Semi-Diameter 16'09.6"
Sun Equatorial Horizontal Parallax 08.9"
Moon Right Ascension 22h17m20.3s
Moon Declination -10°39'25.9"
Moon Semi-Diameter 16'40.0"
Moon Equatorial Horizontal Parallax 1°01'10.2"
ΔT 12.5 s

Eclipse season

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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. The first and last eclipse in this sequence is separated by one synodic month.

Eclipse season of February–March 1803
February 6
Descending node (full moon)
February 21
Ascending node (new moon)
March 8
Descending node (full moon)
 
Penumbral lunar eclipse
Lunar Saros 101
Total solar eclipse
Solar Saros 127
Penumbral lunar eclipse
Lunar Saros 139
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Eclipses in 1803

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Metonic

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Tzolkinex

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Half-Saros

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Tritos

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Solar Saros 127

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Inex

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Triad

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Solar eclipses of 1801–1805

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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.[4]

The partial solar eclipses on April 13, 1801 and October 7, 1801 occur in the previous lunar year eclipse set, and the solar eclipses on January 1, 1805 (partial); June 26, 1805 (partial); and December 21, 1805 (annular) occur in the next lunar year eclipse set.

Solar eclipse series sets from 1801 to 1805
Ascending node   Descending node
Saros Map Gamma Saros Map Gamma
107 March 14, 1801
 
Partial
−1.4434 112 September 8, 1801
 
Partial
1.4657
117 March 4, 1802
 
Total
−0.6943 122 August 28, 1802
 
Annular
0.7569
127 February 21, 1803
 
Total
−0.0075 132 August 17, 1803
 
Annular
−0.0048
137 February 11, 1804
 
Hybrid
0.7053 142 August 5, 1804
 
Total
−0.7622
147 January 30, 1805
 
Partial
1.4651 152 July 26, 1805
 
Partial
−1.4571

Saros 127

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This eclipse is a part of Saros series 127, repeating every 18 years, 11 days, and containing 82 events. The series started with a partial solar eclipse on October 10, 991 AD. It contains total eclipses from May 14, 1352 through August 15, 2091. There are no annular or hybrid eclipses in this set. The series ends at member 82 as a partial eclipse on March 21, 2452. 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 31 at 5 minutes, 40 seconds on August 30, 1532. All eclipses in this series occur at the Moon’s ascending node of orbit.[5]

Series members 46–68 occur between 1801 and 2200:
46 47 48
 
February 21, 1803
 
March 4, 1821
 
March 15, 1839
49 50 51
 
March 25, 1857
 
April 6, 1875
 
April 16, 1893
52 53 54
 
April 28, 1911
 
May 9, 1929
 
May 20, 1947
55 56 57
 
May 30, 1965
 
June 11, 1983
 
June 21, 2001
58 59 60
 
July 2, 2019
 
July 13, 2037
 
July 24, 2055
61 62 63
 
August 3, 2073
 
August 15, 2091
 
August 26, 2109
64 65 66
 
September 6, 2127
 
September 16, 2145
 
September 28, 2163
67 68
 
October 8, 2181
 
October 19, 2199

Metonic series

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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 ascending node.

24 eclipse events between February 21, 1803 and September 27, 1848
February 21 December 9–10 September 27–28 July 17 May 4–5
127 129 131 133 135
 
February 21, 1803
 
December 10, 1806
 
September 28, 1810
 
July 17, 1814
 
May 5, 1818
137 139 141 143 145
 
February 21, 1822
 
December 9, 1825
 
September 28, 1829
 
July 17, 1833
 
May 4, 1837
147 149 151
 
February 21, 1841
 
December 9, 1844
 
September 27, 1848

Tritos series

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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.

Series members between 1801 and 2200
 
February 21, 1803
(Saros 127)
 
January 21, 1814
(Saros 128)
 
December 20, 1824
(Saros 129)
 
November 20, 1835
(Saros 130)
 
October 20, 1846
(Saros 131)
 
September 18, 1857
(Saros 132)
 
August 18, 1868
(Saros 133)
 
July 19, 1879
(Saros 134)
 
June 17, 1890
(Saros 135)
 
May 18, 1901
(Saros 136)
 
April 17, 1912
(Saros 137)
 
March 17, 1923
(Saros 138)
 
February 14, 1934
(Saros 139)
 
January 14, 1945
(Saros 140)
 
December 14, 1955
(Saros 141)
 
November 12, 1966
(Saros 142)
 
October 12, 1977
(Saros 143)
 
September 11, 1988
(Saros 144)
 
August 11, 1999
(Saros 145)
 
July 11, 2010
(Saros 146)
 
June 10, 2021
(Saros 147)
 
May 9, 2032
(Saros 148)
 
April 9, 2043
(Saros 149)
 
March 9, 2054
(Saros 150)
 
February 5, 2065
(Saros 151)
 
January 6, 2076
(Saros 152)
 
December 6, 2086
(Saros 153)
 
November 4, 2097
(Saros 154)
 
October 5, 2108
(Saros 155)
 
September 5, 2119
(Saros 156)
 
August 4, 2130
(Saros 157)
 
July 3, 2141
(Saros 158)
 
June 3, 2152
(Saros 159)
 
April 1, 2174
(Saros 161)

Inex series

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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.

Series members between 1801 and 2200
 
February 21, 1803
(Saros 127)
 
February 1, 1832
(Saros 128)
 
January 11, 1861
(Saros 129)
 
December 22, 1889
(Saros 130)
 
December 3, 1918
(Saros 131)
 
November 12, 1947
(Saros 132)
 
October 23, 1976
(Saros 133)
 
October 3, 2005
(Saros 134)
 
September 12, 2034
(Saros 135)
 
August 24, 2063
(Saros 136)
 
August 3, 2092
(Saros 137)
 
July 14, 2121
(Saros 138)
 
June 25, 2150
(Saros 139)
 
June 5, 2179
(Saros 140)

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Moon Distances for London, United Kingdom, England". timeanddate. Retrieved 24 September 2024.
  2. ^ "Solar eclipse of February 21, 1803". NASA. Retrieved June 15, 2012.
  3. ^ "Total Solar Eclipse of 1803 Feb 21". EclipseWise.com. Retrieved 24 September 2024.
  4. ^ van Gent, R.H. "Solar- and Lunar-Eclipse Predictions from Antiquity to the Present". A Catalogue of Eclipse Cycles. Utrecht University. Retrieved 6 October 2018.
  5. ^ "NASA - Catalog of Solar Eclipses of Saros 127". eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov.
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