Solar eclipse of June 20, 1974

32°06′S 103°42′E / 32.1°S 103.7°E / -32.1; 103.7Max. width of band344 km (214 mi)Times (UTC)Greatest eclipse4:48:04ReferencesSaros146 (25 of 76)Catalog # (SE5000)9452

A total solar eclipse occurred on June 20, 1974. 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.

The path of totality passed over the Indian Ocean, Amsterdam Island, and Western Australia. The partial eclipse was visible from Madagascar, Indonesia, Australia, and the southwestern coast of South Island, New Zealand.^[1]

Related eclipses

Eclipses in 1974

• A partial lunar eclipse on Tuesday, 4 June 1974.
• A total solar eclipse on Thursday, 20 June 1974.
• A total lunar eclipse on Friday, 29 November 1974.
• A partial solar eclipse on Friday, 13 December 1974.

Solar eclipses of 1971–1974

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.^[2]

Note: Partial solar eclipses on February 25, 1971 and August 20, 1971 occur in the next lunar year set.

Solar eclipse series sets from 1971 to 1974
Descending node				Ascending node
Saros	Map	Gamma		Saros	Map	Gamma
116	1971 July 22 Partial	1.51298		121	1972 January 16 Annular	−0.93651
126	1972 July 10 Total	0.68719		131	1973 January 4 Annular	−0.26441
136	1973 June 30 Total	−0.07853		141	1973 December 24 Annular	0.41710
146	1974 June 20 Total	−0.82388		151	1974 December 13 Partial	1.07974

Saros 146

It is a part of Saros cycle 146, repeating every 18 years, 11 days, containing 76 events. The series started with partial solar eclipse on September 19, 1541. It contains total eclipses from May 29, 1938 through October 7, 2154, hybrid eclipses from October 17, 2172 through November 20, 2226, and annular eclipses from December 1, 2244 through August 10, 2659. The series ends at member 76 as a partial eclipse on December 29, 2893. The longest duration of totality was 5 minutes, 21 seconds on June 30, 1992.

Series members 21-37 occur between 1901 and 2200:
21	22	23
May 7, 1902	May 18, 1920	May 29, 1938
24	25	26
June 8, 1956	June 20, 1974	June 30, 1992
27	28	29
July 11, 2010	July 22, 2028	August 2, 2046
30	31	32
August 12, 2064	August 24, 2082	September 4, 2100
33	34	35
September 15, 2118	September 26, 2136	October 7, 2154
36	37
October 17, 2172	October 29, 2190

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).

22 eclipse events, progressing from north to south between April 8, 1902 and August 31, 1989:
April 7–8	January 24–25	November 12	August 31-September 1	June 19–20
108			114	116
April 8, 1902			August 31, 1913	June 19, 1917
118	120	122	124	126
April 8, 1921	January 24, 1925	November 12, 1928	August 31, 1932	June 19, 1936
128	130	132	134	136
April 7, 1940	January 25, 1944	November 12, 1947	September 1, 1951	June 20, 1955
138	140	142	144	146
April 8, 1959	January 25, 1963	November 12, 1966	August 31, 1970	June 20, 1974
148	150	152	154
April 7, 1978	January 25, 1982	November 12, 1985	August 31, 1989

References

External links

• Earth visibility chart and eclipse statistics Eclipse Predictions by Fred Espenak, NASA/GSFC
  • Google interactive map
  • Besselian elements