A total

solar eclipse A solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes between Earth and the Sun, thereby obscuring the view of the Sun from a small part of Earth, totally or partially. Such an alignment occurs approximately every six months, during the eclipse season i ...

occurred at the Moon's

descending node An orbital node is either of the two points where an orbit intersects a plane of reference to which it is inclined. A non-inclined orbit, which is contained in the reference plane, has no nodes. Planes of reference Common planes of referenc ...

of orbit between Monday, July 10 and Tuesday, July 11, 1972, with a

magnitude Magnitude may refer to: Mathematics *Euclidean vector, a quantity defined by both its magnitude and its direction *Magnitude (mathematics), the relative size of an object *Norm (mathematics), a term for the size or length of a vector *Order of ...

of 1.0379. A

occurs when the

Moon The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite. It Orbit of the Moon, orbits around Earth at Lunar distance, an average distance of (; about 30 times Earth diameter, Earth's diameter). The Moon rotation, rotates, with a rotation period (lunar ...

passes between

Earth Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to Planetary habitability, harbor life. This is enabled by Earth being an ocean world, the only one in the Solar System sustaining liquid surface water. Almost all ...

and the

Sun The Sun is the star at the centre of the Solar System. It is a massive, nearly perfect sphere of hot plasma, heated to incandescence by nuclear fusion reactions in its core, radiating the energy from its surface mainly as visible light a ...

, 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 The angular diameter, angular size, apparent diameter, or apparent size is an angular separation (in units of angle) describing how large a sphere or circle appears from a given point of view. In the vision sciences, it is called the '' visual ...

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 2.8 days after

perigee An apsis (; ) is the farthest or nearest point in the orbit of a planetary body about its primary body. The line of apsides (also called apse line, or major axis of the orbit) is the line connecting the two extreme values. Apsides perta ...

(on July 7, 1972, at 23:50 UTC), the Moon's apparent diameter was larger. It was visible as a total eclipse along a path of totality that began in

Sea of Okhotsk The Sea of Okhotsk; Historically also known as , or as ; ) is a marginal sea of the western Pacific Ocean. It is located between Russia's Kamchatka Peninsula on the east, the Kuril Islands on the southeast, Japan's island of Hokkaido on the sou ...

and traversed the far eastern portions of the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

(which now belongs to

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

) on July 11 local time, northern

Alaska Alaska ( ) is a non-contiguous U.S. state on the northwest extremity of North America. Part of the Western United States region, it is one of the two non-contiguous U.S. states, alongside Hawaii. Alaska is also considered to be the north ...

in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

Northern Canada Northern Canada (), colloquially the North or the Territories, is the vast northernmost region of Canada, variously defined by geography and politics. Politically, the term refers to the three Provinces_and_territories_of_Canada#Territories, terr ...

eastern Quebec Image:Regions administratives du Quebec.png, 350px, The seventeen administrative regions of Quebec. poly 213 415 206 223 305 215 304 232 246 230 255 266 251 283 263 289 280 302 291 307 307 315 308 294 318 301 333 299 429 281 432 292 403 311 388 ...

and the

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

Maritimes The Maritimes, also called the Maritime provinces, is a region of Eastern Canada consisting of three provinces: New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island. The Maritimes had a population of 1,899,324 in 2021, which makes up 5.1% of ...

on July 10 local time. A partial eclipse was visible for parts of the northern

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

, the

Caribbean The Caribbean ( , ; ; ; ) is a region in the middle of the Americas centered around the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, mostly overlapping with the West Indies. Bordered by North America to the north, Central America ...

, northern

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a considerably smaller portion in the Northern Hemisphere. It can also be described as the southern Subregion#Americas, subregion o ...

, and

Northern Europe The northern region of Europe has several definitions. A restrictive definition may describe northern Europe as being roughly north of the southern coast of the Baltic Sea, which is about 54th parallel north, 54°N, or may be based on other ge ...

. The eclipse was mostly seen on July 10, 1972, except for the

Asia Asia ( , ) is the largest continent in the world by both land area and population. It covers an area of more than 44 million square kilometres, about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8% of Earth's total surface area. The continent, which ...

n part of Soviet Union and Japanese island

Hokkaido is the list of islands of Japan by area, second-largest island of Japan and comprises the largest and northernmost prefectures of Japan, prefecture, making up its own list of regions of Japan, region. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaidō fr ...

, where either a partial or a total eclipse was seen on July 11 local time, and part of the Soviet Union along the coast of

Kara Sea The Kara Sea is a marginal sea, separated from the Barents Sea to the west by the Kara Strait and Novaya Zemlya, and from the Laptev Sea to the east by the Severnaya Zemlya archipelago. Ultimately the Kara, Barents and Laptev Seas are all ...

, where a partial eclipse started on July 10, passing midnight and ended on July 11 due to the

midnight sun Midnight sun, also known as polar day, is a natural phenomenon that occurs in the summer months in places north of the Arctic Circle or south of the Antarctic Circle, when the Sun remains visible at the local midnight. When midnight sun is see ...

Observations

A team of the

Academy of Sciences of the Soviet Union The Academy of Sciences of the Soviet Union was the highest scientific institution of the Soviet Union from 1925 to 1991. It united the country's leading scientists and was subordinated directly to the Council of Ministers of the Soviet Union (un ...

observed the total solar eclipse in

Russkaya Koshka Russkaya Koshka (Russian: Русская Кошка) is a spit that divides the Anadyr Estuary from the Gulf of Anadyr. The name literally translates as "the Russian cat"; but in fact, ''koshka'' is the dialectal word for "sand spit". The spit is ...

Magadan Oblast Magadan Oblast is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject (an oblast) of Russia. It is geographically located in the Russian Far East, Far East region of the country, and is administratively part of the Far Eastern Federal District. Magadan ...

(now separated into

Chukotka Autonomous Okrug Chukotka ( ; ), officially the Chukotka Autonomous Okrug, is the easternmost federal subjects of Russia, federal subject of Russia. It is an Autonomous okrugs of Russia, autonomous okrug situated in the Russian Far East, and shares a border wi ...

) on the coast of

Gulf of Anadyr The Gulf of Anadyr, or Anadyr Bay (), is a large bay on the Bering Sea in far northeast Siberia. It has a total surface area of Location The bay is roughly rectangular and opens to the southeast. The corners are (clockwise from the south) Cape ...

. The weather condition was clear, and the team successfully took images of the

corona Corona (from the Latin for 'crown') most commonly refers to: * Stellar corona, the outer atmosphere of the Sun or another star * Corona (beer), a Mexican beer * Corona, informal term for the coronavirus or disease responsible for the COVID-19 ...

and made

polarization Polarization or polarisation may refer to: Mathematics *Polarization of an Abelian variety, in the mathematics of complex manifolds *Polarization of an algebraic form, a technique for expressing a homogeneous polynomial in a simpler fashion by ...

observations to study its structure and physical characteristics. In

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada, located on its east coast. It is one of the three Maritime Canada, Maritime provinces and Population of Canada by province and territory, most populous province in Atlan ...

, Canada, the eclipse was clouded out and could not be observed. Besides that, 850 passengers boarded a cruise ship from

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

and saw a total eclipse successfully in North

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the ...

. Many scientists also boarded the ship and did research, and some also gave classes in meteorology, oceanography, etc., which almost all passengers attended.

"You're So Vain"

The eclipse is referenced in the lyrics of

Carly Simon Carly Elisabeth Simon (born June 25, 1943) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and author. She rose to fame in the 1970s with a string of hit records; her 13 Billboard Hot 100, top 40 U.S. hits include "Anticipation (song), Anticipatio ...

's 1972 hit song "

You're So Vain "You're So Vain" is a song by the American singer-songwriter Carly Simon, released as a single in November 1972. The lyrics describe a self-absorbed lover, whose identity has long been a matter of speculation. Simon said the song refers to three ...

." The subject of the song, after witnessing his racehorse win "naturally" at the

Saratoga Race Course Saratoga Race Course is a Thoroughbred horse racing track located on Union Avenue in Saratoga Springs, New York, Saratoga Springs, New York (state), New York, United States. Opened in 1863, it is often considered to be the oldest major sporting v ...

, flies his

Learjet Learjet was a manufacturer of business jets for civilian and military use based in Wichita, Kansas, United States. Founded in the late 1950s by William Powell Lear as Swiss American Aviation Corporation, it became a subsidiary of Canadian Bomba ...

to see the eclipse; Simon uses the two phenomena as examples of how the subject seems to be "where (he) should be all the time." Simon released the song four months after the eclipse.

Eclipse details

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.

Eclipse season

This eclipse is part of an

eclipse season An eclipse season is a period, roughly every six months, when eclipses occur. Eclipse seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of the Orbit of the Moon, Moon's orbital plane (orbital inclination, tilted five degrees to the ecliptic, Earth ...

, 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 A fortnight is a unit of time equal to 14 days (two weeks). The word derives from the Old English term , meaning "" (or "fourteen days", since the Anglo-Saxons counted by nights). Astronomy and tides In astronomy, a ''lunar fortnight'' is hal ...

Related eclipses

Eclipses in 1972

* An annular solar eclipse on January 16. * A total lunar eclipse on January 30. * A total solar eclipse on July 10. * A partial lunar eclipse on July 26.

Metonic

* Preceded by:

Solar eclipse of September 22, 1968 A total solar eclipse occurred at the Moon's descending node of orbit on Sunday, September 22, 1968, with a magnitude of 1.0099. A solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes between Earth and the Sun, thereby totally or partly obscuring the image o ...

* Followed by:

Solar eclipse of April 29, 1976 Solar may refer to: Astronomy * Of or relating to the Sun ** Solar telescope, a special purpose telescope used to observe the Sun ** A device that utilizes solar energy (e.g. "solar panels") ** Solar calendar, a calendar whose dates indicate ...

Tzolkinex

* Preceded by:

Solar eclipse of May 30, 1965 A total solar eclipse occurred at the Moon's ascending node of orbit between Sunday, May 30 and Monday, May 31, 1965, with a magnitude of 1.0544. A solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes between Earth and the Sun, thereby totally or partly obsc ...

* Followed by:

Solar eclipse of August 22, 1979 An annular solar eclipse occurred at the Moon's ascending node of orbit on Wednesday, August 22, 1979, with a magnitude of 0.9329. A solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes between Earth and the Sun, thereby totally or partly obscuring the image ...

Half-Saros

* Preceded by: Lunar eclipse of July 6, 1963 * Followed by: Lunar eclipse of July 17, 1981

Tritos

* Preceded by: Solar eclipse of August 11, 1961 * Followed by: Solar eclipse of June 11, 1983

Solar Saros 126

* Preceded by:

Solar eclipse of June 30, 1954 A total solar eclipse occurred at the Moon's descending node of orbit on Wednesday, June 30, 1954, with a magnitude of 1.0357. A solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes between Earth and the Sun, thereby totally or partly obscuring the image of ...

* Followed by: Solar eclipse of July 22, 1990

Inex

* Preceded by:

Solar eclipse of August 1, 1943 An annular solar eclipse occurred at the Moon's ascending node of orbit on Sunday, August 1, 1943, with a magnitude of 0.9409. A solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes between Earth and the Sun, thereby totally or partly obscuring the image of ...

* Followed by:

Solar eclipse of June 21, 2001 A total solar eclipse occurred at the Moon's ascending node of orbit on Thursday, June 21, 2001, with a magnitude of 1.0495. It was the first solar eclipse of the 21st century. A solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes between Earth and the Sun, ...

Triad

* Preceded by:

Solar eclipse of September 8, 1885 A total solar eclipse occurred at the Moon's Lunar node, ascending node of orbit on Tuesday, September 8, 1885, with a Magnitude of eclipse, magnitude of 1.0332. A solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes between Earth and the Sun, thereby totall ...

* Followed by:

Solar eclipse of May 11, 2059 Solar may refer to: Astronomy * Of or relating to the Sun ** Solar telescope, a special purpose telescope used to observe the Sun ** A device that utilizes solar energy (e.g. "solar panels") ** Solar calendar, a calendar whose dates indicate t ...

Solar eclipses of 1971–1974

Saros 126

Metonic series

Tritos series

Inex series

Notes

References

Foto solar eclipse of July 10, 1972 in Russia

{{DEFAULTSORT:Solar Eclipse Of July 10, 1972 1972 in science 1972 07 10 July 1972 in North America