A total solar eclipse occurred at the Moon's descending node of orbit between Monday, September 11, 1950 and Tuesday, September 12, 1950,[1] with a magnitude of 1.0182. 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 3.2 days before perigee (on September 15, 1950, at 8:20 UTC), the Moon's apparent diameter was larger.[2]
Totality was visible from eastern Soviet Union (today's Russia) on September 12 local time and the whole Semichi Islands in Alaska on September 11 local time. A partial eclipse was visible for parts of Northeast Asia, Alaska, Hawaii, and northwest Canada.
Shown below are two tables displaying details about this particular solar eclipse. The first table outlines times at which the moon's penumbra or umbra attains the specific parameter, and the second table describes various other parameters pertaining to this eclipse.[3]
| First Penumbral External Contact | 1950 September 12 at 01:23:43.1 UTC | |
| Equatorial Conjunction | 1950 September 12 at 02:46:30.5 UTC | |
| First Umbral External Contact | 1950 September 12 at 02:50:01.6 UTC | |
| First Central Line | 1950 September 12 at 02:50:40.3 UTC | |
| First Umbral Internal Contact | 1950 September 12 at 02:51:19.4 UTC | |
| Ecliptic Conjunction | 1950 September 12 at 03:29:21.7 UTC | |
| Greatest Eclipse | 1950 September 12 at 03:38:46.9 UTC | |
| Greatest Duration | 1950 September 12 at 03:40:16.3 UTC | |
| Last Umbral Internal Contact | 1950 September 12 at 04:26:44.1 UTC | |
| Last Central Line | 1950 September 12 at 04:27:25.6 UTC | |
| Last Umbral External Contact | 1950 September 12 at 04:28:06.7 UTC | |
| Last Penumbral External Contact | 1950 September 12 at 05:54:06.6 UTC |
| Eclipse Magnitude | 1.01818 | |
| Eclipse Obscuration | 1.03668 | |
| Gamma | 0.89030 | |
| Sun Right Ascension | 11h18m51.6s | |
| Sun Declination | +04°25'42.1" | |
| Sun Semi-Diameter | 15'53.5" | |
| Sun Equatorial Horizontal Parallax | 08.7" | |
| Moon Right Ascension | 11h20m32.5s | |
| Moon Declination | +05°11'38.3" | |
| Moon Semi-Diameter | 16'04.0" | |
| Moon Equatorial Horizontal Parallax | 0°58'57.9" | |
| ΔT | 29.4 s |
See also: Eclipse cycle. This eclipse is part of an eclipse season, a period, roughly every six months, when eclipses occur. Only two (or occasionally three) eclipse seasons occur each year, and each season lasts about 35 days and repeats just short of six months (173 days) later; thus two full eclipse seasons always occur each year. Either two or three eclipses happen each eclipse season. In the sequence below, each eclipse is separated by a fortnight.
| September 26 Ascending node (full moon) | ||
| Total solar eclipse Solar Saros 124 | Total lunar eclipse Lunar Saros 136 |