Home   Sun, Moon & Space   Eclipses   May 20, 1947 Total Solar Eclipse

May 20, 1947 Total Solar Eclipse

This eclipse wasn't visible in Columbus - Which upcoming eclipses can be seen in your location?

What the Eclipse Looked Like Near the Maximum Point

The animation shows what the eclipse approximately looked like near the maximum point. The curvature of the Moon's path is due to the Earth's rotation.

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Where the Eclipse Was Seen

Try our new interactive eclipse maps. Zoom in and search for accurate eclipse times and visualizations for any location.


Path of the Eclipse Shadow

Regions that saw, at least, a partial eclipse: West in Asia, Africa, South America, Pacific, Atlantic, Indian Ocean.

Expand for a list of selected cities where at least part of the total eclipse was visible
Expand for a list of selected cities where the partial eclipse was visible

This eclipse wasn't visible in Columbus - Which upcoming eclipses can be seen in your location?

Eclipse Shadow Path

Portion of Sun covered by the Moon (Eclipse obscuration)

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The dark areas symbolize night and twilight.

When the Eclipse Happened Worldwide — Timeline

The eclipse started at one location and ended at another. The times below are actual times (in UTC) when the eclipse occurred. This calculation uses a Delta T value of 28.0 seconds.

Eclipse Stages WorldwideUTC TimeLocal Time in Columbus*
First location to see the partial eclipse beginMay 20 at 11:10:48May 20 at 7:10:48 am
First location to see the full eclipse beginMay 20 at 12:08:20May 20 at 8:08:20 am
Maximum EclipseMay 20 at 13:47:19May 20 at 9:47:19 am
Last location to see the full eclipse endMay 20 at 15:26:29May 20 at 11:26:29 am
Last location to see the partial eclipse endMay 20 at 16:23:52May 20 at 12:23:52 pm

* These local times do not refer to a specific location but indicate the beginning, peak, and end of the eclipse on a global scale, each line referring to a different location. This eclipse isn't visible in Columbus.

Upcoming eclipses visible in Columbus

Next Total Solar Eclipse will be on May 8 – May 9, 1948

Eclipse calculations usually accurate to a few seconds

Countries Where the Eclipse Is Visible

CountryTypeStart of EclipseEnd of Eclipse
Argentina
Total Solar Eclipse
8:10 am 10:35 am
Benin
Total Solar Eclipse
1:24 pm GMT5:14 pm WAT
Brazil
Total Solar Eclipse
8:12 am BRT12:01 pm BRT
Cameroon
Total Solar Eclipse
2:41 pm WAT5:22 pm WAT
Central African Republic
Total Solar Eclipse
2:55 pm WAT5:23 pm WAT
Chile
Total Solar Eclipse
6:11 am CLT8:17 am CLT
Congo
Total Solar Eclipse
2:44 pm WAT5:22 pm WAT
Congo Democratic Republic
Total Solar Eclipse
2:46 pm WAT6:23 pm CAT
Cote d'Ivoire
Total Solar Eclipse
12:11 pm 4:07 pm GMT
Ghana
Total Solar Eclipse
1:09 pm GMT4:11 pm GMT
Kenya
Total Solar Eclipse
5:20 pm EAT5:50 pm CAT
Liberia
Total Solar Eclipse
12:04 pm 3:58 pm GMT
Nigeria
Total Solar Eclipse
2:27 pm WAT5:20 pm WAT
Paraguay
Total Solar Eclipse
8:11 am 9:35 am PYT
Tanzania
Total Solar Eclipse
4:14 pm CAT5:56 pm CAT
Togo
Total Solar Eclipse
1:21 pm GMT4:12 pm GMT
Uganda
Total Solar Eclipse
4:16 pm CAT6:31 pm
Algeria
Partial Solar Eclipse
1:42 pm WET4:10 pm GMT
Angola
Partial Solar Eclipse
2:46 pm WAT6:16 pm CAT
Antarctica
Partial Solar Eclipse
12:07 pm 1:15 pm
Bahrain
Partial Solar Eclipse
7:11 pm GST7:18 pm GST
Bolivia
Partial Solar Eclipse
7:12 am BOT9:32 am AMT
Botswana
Partial Solar Eclipse
4:04 pm CAT6:00 pm SAST
Burkina Faso
Partial Solar Eclipse
12:10 pm WAT4:12 pm GMT
Burundi
Partial Solar Eclipse
4:15 pm CAT5:59 pm CAT
Cabo Verde
Partial Solar Eclipse
10:39 am CVT1:26 pm CVT
Chad
Partial Solar Eclipse
2:57 pm WAT5:22 pm WAT
Colombia
Partial Solar Eclipse
6:45 am PET8:00 am PET
Comoros
Partial Solar Eclipse
5:22 pm EAT5:48 pm EAT
Djibouti
Partial Solar Eclipse
5:34 pm EAT6:30 pm EAT
Ecuador
Partial Solar Eclipse
6:54 am PET7:38 am PET
Egypt
Partial Solar Eclipse
3:29 pm CET5:09 pm CET
Equatorial Guinea
Partial Solar Eclipse
1:30 pm GMT4:18 pm GMT
Eritrea
Partial Solar Eclipse
5:33 pm EAT5:57 pm CAT
Eswatini
Partial Solar Eclipse
4:15 pm SAST5:15 pm SAST
Ethiopia
Partial Solar Eclipse
5:24 pm EAT5:59 pm CAT
Falkland Islands
Partial Solar Eclipse
7:34 am FKT9:19 am FKT
French Guiana
Partial Solar Eclipse
7:51 am GFT9:49 am GFT
French Southern Territories
Partial Solar Eclipse
5:18 pm 5:47 pm
Gabon
Partial Solar Eclipse
2:39 pm WAT5:20 pm WAT
Gambia
Partial Solar Eclipse
11:48 am WAT2:48 pm WAT
Gibraltar
Partial Solar Eclipse
4:28 pm 5:08 pm
Guinea
Partial Solar Eclipse
11:47 am WAT3:59 pm GMT
Guinea-Bissau
Partial Solar Eclipse
11:45 am WAT2:48 pm WAT
Guyana
Partial Solar Eclipse
8:07 am 9:33 am AMT
Israel
Partial Solar Eclipse
5:00 pm EET5:41 pm EET
Italy
Partial Solar Eclipse
4:50 pm CEST5:25 pm CEST
Jordan
Partial Solar Eclipse
5:00 pm EET5:42 pm EET
Lesotho
Partial Solar Eclipse
4:14 pm SAST5:24 pm SAST
Libya
Partial Solar Eclipse
2:09 pm WET5:13 pm WAT
Madagascar
Partial Solar Eclipse
5:19 pm EAT5:36 pm EAT
Malawi
Partial Solar Eclipse
4:16 pm CAT5:34 pm CAT
Mali
Partial Solar Eclipse
11:58 am WAT4:12 pm GMT
Malta
Partial Solar Eclipse
4:58 pm CEST5:20 pm CEST
Mauritania
Partial Solar Eclipse
12:55 pm GMT3:01 pm WAT
Mayotte
Partial Solar Eclipse
5:22 pm EAT5:39 pm EAT
Morocco
Partial Solar Eclipse
12:10 pm WAT2:41 pm WAT
Mozambique
Partial Solar Eclipse
4:14 pm CAT5:36 pm CAT
Namibia
Partial Solar Eclipse
2:47 pm WAT6:01 pm SAST
Niger
Partial Solar Eclipse
1:30 pm GMT5:19 pm WAT
Oman
Partial Solar Eclipse
5:49 pm 6:59 pm GST
Palestine
Partial Solar Eclipse
5:09 pm EET5:31 pm EET
Peru
Partial Solar Eclipse
6:17 am PET8:13 am PET
Portugal
Partial Solar Eclipse
1:43 pm 3:18 pm
Qatar
Partial Solar Eclipse
7:06 pm GST7:16 pm GST
Rwanda
Partial Solar Eclipse
4:15 pm CAT6:00 pm CAT
Saint Helena
Partial Solar Eclipse
12:00 noon 3:03 pm
Sao Tome and Principe
Partial Solar Eclipse
1:33 pm GMT4:15 pm GMT
Saudi Arabia
Partial Solar Eclipse
5:41 pm AST6:59 pm AST
Senegal
Partial Solar Eclipse
12:46 pm GMT3:53 pm GMT
Seychelles
Partial Solar Eclipse
6:24 pm SCT6:39 pm SCT
Sierra Leone
Partial Solar Eclipse
11:45 am WAT2:54 pm WAT
Somalia
Partial Solar Eclipse
5:25 pm EAT6:24 pm EAT
South Africa
Partial Solar Eclipse
4:04 pm SAST5:42 pm CAT
South Georgia/Sandwich Is.
Partial Solar Eclipse
10:07 am GST11:20 am GST
South Sudan
Partial Solar Eclipse
3:14 pm WAT5:23 pm WAT
Spain
Partial Solar Eclipse
1:31 pm WET3:29 pm WET
Sudan
Partial Solar Eclipse
3:13 pm WAT6:23 pm CAT
Suriname
Partial Solar Eclipse
8:52 am BRT9:41 am GFT
Tunisia
Partial Solar Eclipse
3:22 pm CET4:50 pm CET
United Arab Emirates
Partial Solar Eclipse
6:02 pm AST7:10 pm GST
Uruguay
Partial Solar Eclipse
8:12 am UYT10:31 am UYT
Venezuela
Partial Solar Eclipse
7:57 am AMT8:43 am VET
Western Sahara
Partial Solar Eclipse
12:08 pm WAT2:44 pm WAT
Yemen
Partial Solar Eclipse
5:38 pm 6:33 pm AST
Zambia
Partial Solar Eclipse
3:04 pm WAT6:09 pm CAT
Zimbabwe
Partial Solar Eclipse
4:09 pm CAT5:52 pm CAT

All times shown in this table are local time. (Note: more than one time zone is listed.)

How Many People Can See This Eclipse?

Number of People Seeing...Number of People*Fraction of World Population
Any part of the eclipse223,000,00014.45%
At least 10% partial187,000,00012.12%
At least 20% partial175,000,00011.34%
At least 30% partial168,000,00010.92%
At least 40% partial160,000,00010.39%
At least 50% partial148,000,0009.62%
At least 60% partial134,000,0008.72%
At least 70% partial119,000,0007.75%
At least 80% partial96,000,0006.21%
At least 90% partial70,200,0004.54%
Totality or annularity21,600,0001.40%

* The number of people refers to the resident population (as a round number) in areas where the eclipse is visible. timeanddate has calculated these numbers using raw population data provided by the Center for International Earth Science Information Network (CIESIN) at Columbia University. The raw data is based on population estimates from the year 2000 to 2020.

An Eclipse Never Comes Alone!

A solar eclipse always occurs about two weeks before or after a lunar eclipse.

Usually, there are two eclipses in a row, but other times, there are three during the same eclipse season.

All eclipses 1900 — 2199

This is the first eclipse this season.

Second eclipse this season: June 3, 1947 — Partial Lunar Eclipse