A total solar eclipse occurred at the Moon's descending node of orbit between Sunday, February 4 and Monday, February 5, 1962, with a magnitude of 1.043. 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 21.5 hours before perigee (on February 5, 1962, at 21:40 UTC), the Moon's apparent diameter was larger.
Totality was visible from Indonesia, Netherlands New Guinea (now belonging to Indonesia), the Territory of Papua New Guinea (today's Papua New Guinea), British Solomon Islands (today's Solomon Islands), and Palmyra Atoll. A partial eclipse was visible for parts of East Asia, Australia, Oceania, Hawaii, and western North America. Among these places, the eclipse was on February 5 west of the International Date Line, and February 4 east of it.
The date of this eclipse visible from Asia, February 5, was also Lunar New Year celebrated in multiple countries. The five naked-eye planets (Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn) were all near the sun at the time, and could all be seen simultaneously by any observers watching the total eclipse.
Observation A team sent by Kyoto University of Japan observed this eclipse in Lae, the second largest city and a port on the east coast of the Territory Papua New Guinea. The spectrum was analyzed with spectrophotometry, and photometry of the inner corona was conducted.
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.
+February 5, 1962 Solar Eclipse Times Event Time (UTC) First Penumbral External Contact 1962 February 4 at 21:34:34.9 UTC First Umbral External Contact 1962 February 4 at 22:30:37.9 UTC First Central Line 1962 February 4 at 22:31:19.7 UTC First Umbral Internal Contact 1962 February 4 at 22:32:01.6 UTC First Penumbral Internal Contact 1962 February 4 at 23:30:13.6 UTC Greatest Duration 1962 February 5 at 00:10:27.2 UTC Ecliptic Conjunction 1962 February 5 at 00:10:27.6 UTC Greatest Eclipse 1962 February 5 at 00:12:37.8 UTC Equatorial Conjunction 1962 February 5 at 00:17:05.8 UTC Last Penumbral Internal Contact 1962 February 5 at 00:54:55.5 UTC Last Umbral Internal Contact 1962 February 5 at 01:53:09.3 UTC Last Central Line 1962 February 5 at 01:53:52.4 UTC Last Umbral External Contact 1962 February 5 at 01:54:35.4 UTC Last Penumbral External Contact 1962 February 5 at 02:50:36.1 UTC
+February 5, 1962 Solar Eclipse Parameters Parameter Value Eclipse Magnitude 1.04296 Eclipse Obscuration 1.08777 Gamma 0.21066 Sun Right Ascension 21h12m42.3s Sun Declination -16°07'38.7" Sun Semi-Diameter 16'13.3" Sun Equatorial Horizontal Parallax 08.9" Moon Right Ascension 21h12m31.6s Moon Declination -15°55'04.4" Moon Semi-Diameter 16'38.3" Moon Equatorial Horizontal Parallax 1°01'03.7" ΔT 34.0 s
Eclipse season
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.
+ Eclipse season of February 1962 February 5Descending node (new moon) February 19Ascending node (full moon) Total solar eclipseSolar Saros 130 Penumbral lunar eclipseLunar Saros 142
Related eclipses Eclipses in 1962 A total solar eclipse on February 5. A penumbral lunar eclipse on February 19. A penumbral lunar eclipse on July 17. An annular solar eclipse on July 31. A penumbral lunar eclipse on August 15.
Metonic Preceded by: Solar eclipse of April 19, 1958 Followed by: Solar eclipse of November 23, 1965
Tzolkinex Preceded by: Solar eclipse of December 25, 1954 Followed by: Solar eclipse of March 18, 1969
Half-Saros Preceded by: Lunar eclipse of January 29, 1953 Followed by: Lunar eclipse of February 10, 1971
Tritos Preceded by: Solar eclipse of March 7, 1951 Followed by: Solar eclipse of January 4, 1973
Solar Saros 130 Preceded by: Solar eclipse of January 25, 1944 Followed by: Solar eclipse of February 16, 1980
Inex Preceded by: Solar eclipse of February 24, 1933 Followed by: Solar eclipse of January 15, 1991
Triad Preceded by: Solar eclipse of April 6, 1875 Followed by: Solar eclipse of December 5, 2048
Solar eclipses of 1961–1964
Saros 130
Metonic series
Tritos series
Inex series
Notes
References
The Flash Spectrum Observed at the Total Eclipse of February 5, 1962, Publications of the Astronomical Society of Japan, vol. 21, p.141 (1969).