Solar eclipse of October 2, 1959
Introduction A total solar eclipse occurred on October 2, 1959.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. Totality was visible from northeastern Massachusetts and the southern tip of New Hampshire in the United States, Canary Islands, Morocco, Spanish Sahara (today's West Sahara) including the capital city Laayoune, French Mauritania (today's Mauritania), Mali Federation (part now belonging to Mali), French Niger (today's Niger), British Nigeria (today's Nigeria), British Cameroons and French Cameroons (now belonging to Cameroon), French Chad (today's Chad) including the capital city Fort-Lamy, French Central Africa (today's Central African Republic), Sudan (part of the path of totality is now in South Sudan), Ethiopia, and the Trust Territory of Somaliland (today's Somalia).
Observations Totality began over Boston, Massachusetts at sunrise. Viewing the eclipse was rained out, but it was reported that the brightening of the sky after the eclipse was a startling and impressive sight. A few photographers captured the eclipse from airplanes above the clouds, and a multiple exposure was made atop the R. C. A. building in New York City. The next total eclipse over Boston, the solar eclipse of May 1, 2079, will also be a sunrise event.The event was also observed at the Canarian Island of Fuerteventura by a team of Dutch astronomers of the university of Utrecht and Amsterdam.Maurice Allais, a French polymath, reported the alleged anomalous behavior of pendulums or gravimeters, later named as Allais effect. He first reported the effect after observing the solar eclipse of June 30, 1954, and reported another observation of the effect during this solar eclipse using the paraconical pendulum he invented.
Related eclipses === Solar eclipses of 1957–1960 ====== Solar 143======Inex series=== Inex series members between 1901 and 2100:150pxNovember 11, 1901(Saros 141)150pxOctober 21, 1930(Saros 142)150pxOctober 2, 1959(Saros 143)150pxSeptember 11, 1988(Saros 144)150pxAugust 21, 2017(Saros 145)150pxAugust 2, 2046(Saros 146)150pxJuly 13, 2075(Saros 147)=== Metonic series ===22 eclipse events between December 13, 1898 and July 20, 1982December 13–14October 1–2July 20–21May 9February 24–25111113115117119150pxDecember 13, 1898150pxJuly 21, 1906150pxMay 9, 1910150pxFebruary 25, 1914121123125127129150pxDecember 14, 1917150pxOctober 1, 1921150pxJuly 20, 1925150pxMay 9, 1929150pxFebruary 24, 1933131133135137139150pxDecember 13, 1936150pxOctober 1, 1940150pxJuly 20, 1944150pxMay 9, 1948150pxFebruary 25, 1952141143145147149150pxDecember 14, 1955150pxOctober 2, 1959150pxJuly 20, 1963150pxMay 9, 1967150pxFebruary 25, 1971151153155150pxDecember 13, 1974150pxOctober 2, 1978150pxJuly 20, 1982=== Tritos series ===Series members between 1901 and 2100150pxMarch 6, 1905(Saros 138)150pxFebruary 3, 1916(Saros 139)150pxJanuary 3, 1927(Saros 140)150pxDecember 2, 1937(Saros 141)150pxNovember 1, 1948(Saros 142)150pxOctober 2, 1959(Saros 143)150pxAugust 31, 1970(Saros 144)150pxJuly 31, 1981(Saros 145)150pxJune 30, 1992(Saros 146)150pxMay 31, 2003(Saros 147)150pxApril 29, 2014(Saros 148)150pxMarch 29, 2025(Saros 149)150pxFebruary 27, 2036(Saros 150)150pxJanuary 26, 2047(Saros 151)150pxDecember 26, 2057(Saros 152)150pxNovember 24, 2068(Saros 153)150pxOctober 24, 2079(Saros 154)150pxSeptember 23, 2090(Saros 155)
See also * List of solar eclipses visible from the United Kingdom 1000–2090 AD
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