Nature Total Magnitude 1.0719 Max. width of band 244 km (152 mi) Start date May 29, 1919 | Gamma -0.2955 Duration 411 sec (6 m 51 s) Greatest eclipse 13:08:55 | |
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A total solar eclipse occurred on May 29, 1919. With a maximum duration of totality of 6 minutes 51 seconds, it was one of the longest solar eclipses of the 20th century. It was visible throughout most of South America and Africa as a partial eclipse. Totality occurred through a narrow path across central Brazil after sunrise, across the Atlantic Ocean and into south central Africa ending near sunset in eastern Africa.
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Observations
This eclipse was photographed from the expedition of Sir Arthur Eddington to the island of Principe (off the west coast of Africa). Positions of star images within the field near the Sun were used to test Albert Einstein's prediction of the bending of light around the Sun from his general theory of relativity. The stars which Eddington's expedition observed were in the constellation Taurus.
Solar eclipses 1916–1920
Each member 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.
Saros 136
Solar Saros 136, repeating every 18 years, 11 days, contains 71 events. The series started with partial solar eclipse on Jun 14, 1360, and reached a first annular eclipse on September 8, 1504. It was a hybrid event from November 22, 1612, through January 17, 1703, and total eclipses from January 27, 1721 through May 13, 2496. The series ends at member 71 as a partial eclipse on July 30, 2622, with the entire series lasting 1262 years. The longest eclipse occurred on June 20, 1955, with a maximum duration of totality at 7 minutes, 8 seconds.