An annular solar eclipse occurred at the Moon's descending node of orbit on Sunday, December 4, 1983, with a magnitude of 0.9666. 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. An annular solar eclipse occurs when the Moon's apparent diameter is smaller than the Sun's, blocking most of the Sun's light and causing the Sun to look like an annulus (ring). An annular eclipse appears as a partial eclipse over a region of the Earth thousands of kilometres wide. Occurring about 6.5 days before apogee (on December 11, 1983, at 12:30 UTC), the Moon's apparent diameter was smaller.
Annularity was visible in Cape Verde, Annobón Island of Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, the People's Republic of Congo (today's Republic of Congo), Zaire (today's Democratic Republic of Congo), northern Uganda, southern Sudan (today's South Sudan), northwestern Kenya, Ethiopia and Somalia. A partial eclipse was visible for parts of northern South America, Southern Europe, Africa, and the Middle East.
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.
+December 4, 1983 Solar Eclipse Times Event Time (UTC) First Penumbral External Contact 1983 December 4 at 09:41:52.5 UTC First Umbral External Contact 1983 December 4 at 10:46:44.4 UTC First Central Line 1983 December 4 at 10:48:24.1 UTC First Umbral Internal Contact 1983 December 4 at 10:50:04.1 UTC First Penumbral Internal Contact 1983 December 4 at 12:11:46.8 UTC Equatorial Conjunction 1983 December 4 at 12:20:29.0 UTC Ecliptic Conjunction 1983 December 4 at 12:26:45.1 UTC Greatest Eclipse 1983 December 4 at 12:31:15.1 UTC Last Penumbral Internal Contact 1983 December 4 at 12:50:58.3 UTC Greatest Duration 1983 December 4 at 12:51:39.2 UTC Last Umbral Internal Contact 1983 December 4 at 14:12:31.0 UTC Last Central Line 1983 December 4 at 14:14:13.9 UTC Last Umbral External Contact 1983 December 4 at 14:15:56.6 UTC Last Penumbral External Contact 1983 December 4 at 15:20:48.9 UTC
+December 4, 1983 Solar Eclipse Parameters Parameter Value Eclipse Magnitude 0.96656 Eclipse Obscuration 0.93425 Gamma 0.40150 Sun Right Ascension 16h41m03.6s Sun Declination -22°12'07.8" Sun Semi-Diameter 16'13.7" Sun Equatorial Horizontal Parallax 08.9" Moon Right Ascension 16h41m26.3s Moon Declination -21°50'01.7" Moon Semi-Diameter 15'27.6" Moon Equatorial Horizontal Parallax 0°56'44.4" ΔT 53.7 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 December 1983 December 4Descending node (new moon) December 20Ascending node (full moon) Annular solar eclipseSolar Saros 132 Penumbral lunar eclipseLunar Saros 144
Related eclipses Eclipses in 1983 A total solar eclipse on June 11. A partial lunar eclipse on June 25. An annular solar eclipse on December 4. A penumbral lunar eclipse on December 20.
Metonic Preceded by: Solar eclipse of February 16, 1980 Followed by: Solar eclipse of September 23, 1987
Tzolkinex Preceded by: Solar eclipse of October 23, 1976 Followed by: Solar eclipse of January 15, 1991
Half-Saros Preceded by: Lunar eclipse of November 29, 1974 Followed by: Lunar eclipse of December 9, 1992
Tritos Preceded by: Solar eclipse of January 4, 1973 Followed by: Solar eclipse of November 3, 1994
Solar Saros 132 Preceded by: Solar eclipse of November 23, 1965 Followed by: Solar eclipse of December 14, 2001
Inex Preceded by: Solar eclipse of December 25, 1954 Followed by: Solar eclipse of November 13, 2012
Triad Preceded by: Solar eclipse of February 1, 1897 Followed by: Solar eclipse of October 4, 2070
Solar eclipses of 1982–1985
Saros 132
Metonic series
Tritos series
Inex series
Notes
References