Solar eclipse of July 31, 1981

Solar eclipse of July 31, 1981
Map
Type of eclipse
Nature	Total
Gamma	0.5792
Magnitude	1.0258
Maximum eclipse
Duration	122 sec (2 m 2 s)
Coordinates	53°18′N 134°06′E / 53.3°N 134.1°E
Max. width of band	108 km (67 mi)
Times (UTC)
Greatest eclipse	3:46:37
References
Saros	145 (20 of 77)
Catalog # (SE5000)	9467

A total solar eclipse occurred on July 31, 1981. 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 went through the Turkey and Soviet Union.

Related eclipses

Solar eclipses of 1979-1982

Each member 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.

Solar eclipse series sets from 1979 to 1982

Descending node			Ascending node
Saros	Map		Saros	Map
120	February 26, 1979 Total		125	August 22, 1979 Annular
130	February 16, 1980 Total		135	August 10, 1980 Annular
140	February 4, 1981 Annular		145	July 31, 1981 Total
150	January 25, 1982 Partial		155	July 20, 1982 Partial
Partial solar eclipses on June 21, 1982 and December 15, 1982 occur in the next lunar year eclipse set.

Saros 145

This solar eclipse is a part of Saros cycle 145, repeating every 18 years, 11 days, containing 77 events. The series started with partial solar eclipse on January 4, 1639, and reached a first annular eclipse on June 6, 1891. It was a hybrid event on June 17, 1909, and total eclipses from June 29, 1927 through September 9, 2648. The series ends at member 77 as a partial eclipse on April 17, 3009. The longest eclipse will occur on June 25, 2522, with a maximum duration of totality of 7 minutes, 12 seconds. ^[1]

Series members 16–26 occur between 1901 and 2100
16	17	18
June 17, 1909	June 29, 1927	July 9, 1945
19	20	21
July 20, 1963	July 31, 1981	August 11, 1999
22	23	24
August 21, 2017	September 2, 2035	September 12, 2053
25	26
September 23, 2071	October 4, 2089

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).

21 eclipse events between July 31, 1924 and July 31, 2000
July 31-Aug 1	May 19-20	March 7	December 24-25	October 12
115	117	119	121	123
July 31, 1924	May 19, 1928	March 7, 1932	December 25, 1935	October 12, 1939
125	127	129	131	133
August 1, 1943	May 20, 1947	March 7, 1951	December 25, 1954	October 12, 1958
135	137	139	141	143
July 31, 1962	May 20, 1966	March 7, 1970	December 24, 1973	October 12, 1977
145	147	149	151	153
July 31, 1981	May 19, 1985	March 7, 1989	December 24, 1992	October 12, 1996
155
July 31, 2000

References

1. Espenak, Fred (Project & Website Manager), Statistics for Solar Eclipses of Saros 145, NASA, updated 2009 September 26.

External links

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

Photos:

• Prof. Druckmüller's eclipse photography site: Solar eclipse of July 31, 1981
• Prof. Druckmüller's eclipse photography site: Solar eclipse of July 31, 1981 (Fe XIV and Fe X images)
• In Russia
• In Russia (2)