Solar Eclipse Prime Page

Hybrid Solar Eclipse of -1956 Aug 13 (1957 Aug 13 BCE)

Fred Espenak

Introduction

eclipse map

The Hybrid Solar Eclipse of -1956 Aug 13 (1957 Aug 13 BCE) is visible from the geographic regions shown on the map to the right. Click on the map to enlarge it. For an explanation of the features appearing in the map, see Key to Solar Eclipse Maps.

The instant of greatest eclipse takes place on -1956 Aug 13 at 19:16:39 TD (06:40:50 UT1). This is 4.2 days after the Moon reaches perigee. During the eclipse, the Sun is in the constellation Virgo. The synodic month in which the eclipse takes place has a Brown Lunation Number of -47969.

The eclipse belongs to Saros 4 and is number 44 of 72 eclipses in the series. All eclipses in this series occur at the Moon’s descending node. The Moon moves northward with respect to the node with each succeeding eclipse in the series and gamma increases.

The solar eclipse of -1956 Aug 13 is one of the rare hybrid solar eclipses. In this particular case the eclipse path starts out as annular. Further down the track it changes to total and then back to annular before the path ends. It is a very short hybrid eclipse with a duration at greatest eclipse of 00m25s. The eclipse magnitude is 1.0054, while Gamma has a value of 0.6098.

The hybrid solar eclipse of -1956 Aug 13 is followed two weeks later by a partial lunar eclipse on -1956 Aug 29.

These eclipses all take place during a single eclipse season.

The eclipse predictions are given in both Terrestrial Dynamical Time (TD) and Universal Time (UT1). The parameter ΔT is used to convert between these two times (i.e., UT1 = TD - ΔT). ΔT has a value of 45348.9 seconds for this eclipse. The uncertainty in ΔT is 3546.6 seconds corresponding to a standard error in longitude of the eclipse path of ± 14.82°.

The following links provide maps and data for the eclipse.

The tables below contain detailed predictions and additional information on the Hybrid Solar Eclipse of -1956 Aug 13 .

Eclipse Data: Hybrid Solar Eclipse of -1956 Aug 13

Eclipse Characteristics
Parameter Value
Eclipse Magnitude 1.00538
Eclipse Obscuration 1.01079
Gamma 0.60983
Conjunction Times
Event Calendar Date and Time Julian Date
Greatest Eclipse -1956 Aug 13 at 19:16:38.6 TD (06:40:49.7 UT1) 1006853.778354
Ecliptic Conjunction -1956 Aug 13 at 19:10:06.5 TD (06:34:17.6 UT1) 1006853.773815
Equatorial Conjunction -1956 Aug 13 at 18:53:23.5 TD (06:17:34.6 UT1) 1006853.762206
Geocentric Coordinates of Sun and Moon
-1956 Aug 13 at 19:16:38.6 TD (06:40:49.7 UT1)
Coordinate Sun Moon
Right Ascension08h22m40.5s08h23m30.4s
Declination+19°48'59.7"+20°22'25.7"
Semi-Diameter 15'59.2" 15'52.2"
Eq. Hor. Parallax 08.8" 0°58'14.5"
Geocentric Libration of Moon
Angle Value
l 5.9°
b -0.6°
c 12.5°
Prediction Paramaters
Paramater Value
Ephemerides JPL DE406
ΔT 45348.9 s
k (penumbra) 0.2725076
k (umbra) 0.2722810
Saros Series 4 (44/72)

Explanation of Solar Eclipse Data Tables

Penumbral Shadow Contacts and Extremes: Hybrid Solar Eclipse of -1956 Aug 13

Contacts of Penumbral Shadow with Earth
Contact Event Contact Time
TD		 Time
UT1		 Latitude Longitude
First External ContactP116:41:47.804:05:58.939°35.1'N011°50.5'E
Last External ContactP421:51:45.109:15:56.203°38.6'N133°01.3'E
Extreme Northern and Southern Path Limits of Penumbra
Contact Event Contact Time
TD		 Time
UT1		 Latitude Longitude
North Extreme Path Limit 1N117:18:30.304:42:41.421°52.2'N011°41.7'E
South Extreme Path Limit 1S121:14:51.508:39:02.614°33.9'S135°33.9'E

Explanation of Penumbral Shadow Contacts and Extremes Tables

Umbral Shadow Contacts and Extremes: Hybrid Solar Eclipse of -1956 Aug 13

Contacts of Umbral Shadow with Earth
Contact Event Contact Time
TD		 Time
UT1		 Latitude Longitude
First External ContactU117:50:18.805:14:29.952°05.6'N015°31.1'W
First Internal ContactU217:50:52.105:15:03.252°14.5'N015°49.0'W
Last Internal ContactU320:42:37.608:06:48.717°20.8'N155°26.9'E
Last External ContactU420:43:16.708:07:27.817°09.1'N155°12.4'E
Extreme Northern and Southern Path Limits of Umbra
Contact Event Contact Time
TD		 Time
UT1		 Latitude Longitude
North Extreme Path Limit 1N117:50:47.105:14:58.252°17.3'N015°50.8'W
South Extreme Path Limit 1S117:50:23.805:14:34.952°02.8'N015°29.3'W
North Extreme Path Limit 2N220:42:43.508:06:54.617°24.5'N155°26.9'E
South Extreme Path Limit 2S220:43:10.808:07:21.917°05.4'N155°12.4'E

Explanation of Umbral Shadow Contacts and Extremes Tables

Central Line Extremes and Duration: Hybrid Solar Eclipse of -1956 Aug 13

Extreme Limits of the Central Line
Contact Event Contact Time
TD		 Time
UT1		 Latitude Longitude
Extreme Central Line Limit 1C117:50:35.405:14:46.552°10.1'N015°40.0'W
Extreme Central Line Limit 2C220:42:57.208:07:08.317°14.9'N155°19.7'E

Explanation of Central Line Extremes Table

Greatest Eclipse and Greatest Duration
Event Time
TD		 Time
UT1		 Latitude Longitude Sun
Altitude		 Sun
Azimuth		 Path Width Central
Duration
Greatest Eclipse19:16:38.606:40:49.754°22.5'N088°47.4'W 52.2° 212.0° 23.5 km00m24.69s
Greatest Duration19:12:34.106:36:45.255°30.2'N098°31.8'E 52.1° 206.6° 23.4 km00m24.77s

Explanation of Greatest Eclipse and Greatest Duration

Polynomial Besselian Elements: Hybrid Solar Eclipse of -1956 Aug 13

Polynomial Besselian Elements
-1956 Aug 13 at 19:00:00.0 TD (=t0)
n x y d l1 l2 μ
0 0.05728 0.62606 19.8177 0.54834 0.00218 104.8241
1 0.52001 -0.18197 -0.0093 0.00013 0.00013 15.0000
2 -0.00007 -0.00015 -0.0000 -0.00001 -0.00001 0.0000
3 -0.00001 0.00000 - - - -
Tan ƒ1 0.0046736
Tan ƒ2 0.0046504

At time t1 (decimal hours), each besselian element is evaluated by:

x = x0 + x1*t + x2*t2 + x3*t3 (or x = Σ [xn*tn]; n = 0 to 3)

where: t = t1 - t0 (decimal hours) and t0 = 19.000

Explanation of Polynomial Besselian Elements

Links for the Hybrid Solar Eclipse of -1956 Aug 13 (1957 Aug 13 BCE)

Links to Additional Solar Eclipse Information

Calendar

The Gregorian calendar (also called the Western calendar) is internationally the most widely used civil calendar. It is named for Pope Gregory XIII, who introduced it in 1582. On this website, the Gregorian calendar is used for all calendar dates from 1582 Oct 15 onwards. Before that date, the Julian calendar is used. For more information on this topic, see Calendar Dates.

The Julian calendar does not include the year 0. Thus the year 1 BCE is followed by the year 1 CE (See: BCE/CE Dating Conventions). This is awkward for arithmetic calculations. Years in this catalog are numbered astronomically and include the year 0. Historians should note there is a difference of one year between astronomical dates and BCE dates. Thus, the astronomical year 0 corresponds to 1 BCE, and astronomical year -1 corresponds to 2 BCE, etc..

Eclipse Predictions

Predictions for the Hybrid Solar Eclipse of -1956 Aug 13 were generated using the JPL DE406 solar and lunar ephemerides. The lunar coordinates were calculated with respect to the Moon's Center of Mass. The predictions are given in both Terrestrial Dynamical Time (TD) and Universal Time (UT1). The parameter ΔT is used to convert between these two times (i.e., UT1 = TD - ΔT). ΔT has a value of 45348.9 seconds for this eclipse. The uncertainty in ΔT is 3546.6 seconds corresponding to a standard error in longitude of the eclipse path of ± 14.82°.

Acknowledgments

Some of the content on this website is based on the book Thousand Year Canon of Solar Eclipses 1501 to 2500. All eclipse calculations are by Fred Espenak, and he assumes full responsibility for their accuracy.

Permission is granted to reproduce eclipse data when accompanied by a link to this page and an acknowledgment:

"Eclipse Predictions by Fred Espenak, www.EclipseWise.com"

The use of diagrams and maps is permitted provided that they are NOT altered (except for re-sizing) and the embedded credit line is NOT removed or covered.