| Solar eclipse of July 20, 1963 | |
|---|---|
 Map | |
| Type of eclipse | |
| Nature | Total |
| Gamma | 0.6571 |
| Magnitude | 1.0224 |
| Maximum eclipse | |
| Duration | 100 s (1 min 40 s) |
| Coordinates | 61°42′N 119°36′W / 61.7°N 119.6°W |
| Max. width of band | 101 km (63 mi) |
| Times (UTC) | |
| Greatest eclipse | 20:36:13 |
| References | |
| Saros | 145 (19 of 77) |
| Catalog # (SE5000) | 9427 |
A total solar eclipse occurred at the Moon's ascending node of orbit between Saturday, July 20 and Sunday, July 21, 1963,[1] with a magnitude of 1.0224. 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 at least the same size as the Sun's or larger, blocking all direct sunlight, turning day into darkness. Totality occurs in a narrow path across Earth's surface, with a partial solar eclipse visible over the surrounding region thousands of kilometres wide. Occurring about 4.1 days after perigee (on July 16, 1963, at 19:20 UTC), the Moon's apparent diameter was larger.[2]
Astronomer Charles H. Smiley observed the eclipse from a U.S. Air Force F-104D Starfighter supersonic aircraft that was "racing the Moon's shadow" at 1,300 mph (2,100 km/h) extending the duration of totality to 4 minutes 3 seconds.[3]
The Moon's apparent diameter was 4.8 arcseconds smaller than the January 25, 1963 annular solar eclipse. This was a total solar eclipse because it occurred in July when the Earth is near aphelion (furthest from the Sun). The Moon's apparent diameter was just over 2.2% larger than the Sun's.
Totality was visible from Hokkaido in Japan and Kuril Islands in Soviet Union (now belonging to Russia) on July 21, and Alaska, and Maine in the United States and also Canada on July 20. A partial eclipse was visible for parts of the eastern Soviet Union, North America, Central America, the Caribbean, far northern Europe, and northern South America.
- ^ "July 20, 1963 Total Solar Eclipse". timeanddate. Retrieved August 7, 2024.
- ^ "Moon Distances for London, United Kingdom, England". timeanddate. Retrieved August 7, 2024.
- ^ Smiley, Charles H. (February 1964). "Racing the Moon's Shadow on July 20, 1963". Journal of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada. 58 (1): 10–12. Bibcode:1964JRASC..58...10S.
The United States Air Force provided an F-104D, a Starfighter made by Lockheed, and Major William A. Cato piloted the plane from Kirkland Air Force Base in New Mexico to Uplands Airport, Ottawa. Since the duration of totality depends on the difference between the speed of the plane and the speed of the moon's shadow, we elected to fly north-west to meet the shadow, then turn and increase speed so that we would reach our maximum speed at 42,000 feet as the shadow overtook us and we continued to climb, attaining 48,000 feet as the shadow left us.