Solar eclipse of May 20, 1947

Solar eclipse of May 20, 1947
Map
Type of eclipse
Nature	Total
Gamma	−0.3528
Magnitude	1.0557
Maximum eclipse
Duration	313 s (5 min 13 s)
Coordinates	0°12′N 21°24′W / 0.2°N 21.4°W / 0.2; -21.4
Max. width of band	196 km (122 mi)
Times (UTC)
Greatest eclipse	13:47:47
References
Saros	127 (54 of 82)
Catalog # (SE5000)	9392

A total solar eclipse occurred at the Moon's ascending node of orbit on Tuesday, May 20, 1947,^[1] with a magnitude of 1.0557. 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 1.8 days before perigee (on May 22, 1947, at 9:10 UTC), the Moon's apparent diameter was larger.^[2]

Totality was visible from Chile including the capital city Santiago, Argentina, Paraguay, Brazil, Liberia, French West Africa (the parts now belonging to Ivory Coast and Benin), British Gold Coast (today's Ghana) including capital Accra, French Togoland (today's Togo) including capital Lomé, British Nigeria (today's Nigeria) including capital Lagos, French Cameroons (now belonging to Cameroon), French Equatorial Africa (the parts now belonging to Central African Republic and R. Congo), Belgian Congo (today's DR Congo), British Uganda (today's Uganda), British Tanganyika (now belonging to Tanzania), and British Kenya (today's Kenya). The southern part of Aconcagua, the highest mountain outside Asia, and Iguazu Falls, one of the largest waterfalls systems in the world, lay in the path of totality. A partial eclipse was visible for most of South America and Africa.