| Solar eclipse of May 29, 1919 | |
|---|---|
 From the report of Sir Arthur Eddington on the expedition to the island of Principe (off the west coast of Africa). | |
 Map | |
| Type of eclipse | |
| Nature | Total |
| Gamma | −0.2955 |
| Magnitude | 1.0719 |
| Maximum eclipse | |
| Duration | 411 s (6 min 51 s) |
| Coordinates | 4°24′N 16°42′W / 4.4°N 16.7°W |
| Max. width of band | 244 km (152 mi) |
| Times (UTC) | |
| Greatest eclipse | 13:08:55 |
| References | |
| Saros | 136 (32 of 71) |
| Catalog # (SE5000) | 9326 |
A total solar eclipse occurred at the Moon's descending node of orbit on Thursday, May 29, 1919,[1] with a magnitude of 1.0719. 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 19 hours after perigee (on May 28, 1919, at 18:09 UTC), the Moon's apparent diameter was larger.[2]
This specific total solar eclipse was significant because it helped prove Einstein's theory of relativity.[3] The eclipse was the subject of the Eddington experiment: two groups of British astronomers went to Brazil and the west coast of Africa to take pictures of the stars in the sky once the Moon covered the Sun and darkness was revealed.[3] Those photos helped prove that the Sun interferes with the bend of starlight.[3]
The totality of this eclipse was visible from southeastern Peru, northern Chile, much of Bolivia and central Brazil, southern Liberia, the southern Ivory Coast, Principe, Río Muni (now Equatorial Guinea), parts of central French Equatorial Africa (now Gabon and the Republic of the Congo), Belgian Congo (now the Democratic Republic of the Congo), northern Rhodesia (now northern Zambia), German East Africa (now Tanzania), northern Nyasaland (now Malawi), northern Mozambique, and the western Comoros. A partial eclipse was visible for most of South America and Africa.
- ^ "May 29, 1919 Total Solar Eclipse". timeanddate. Retrieved 1 August 2024.
- ^ "Moon Distances for London, United Kingdom, England". timeanddate. Retrieved 1 August 2024.
- ^ a b c Cowen, Ron (2019). Gravity's Century (1st ed.). Cambridge, Massachusetts. London, England: Harvard University Press. pp. 2–3. ISBN 9780674974968.