A partial solar eclipse occurred at the Moon's descending node of orbit between Wednesday, April 17 and Thursday, April 18, 1996, with a magnitude of 0.8799. A solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes between the Earth and the Sun, thereby totally or partly obscuring the image of the Sun for a viewer on Earth. A partial solar eclipse occurs in the polar regions of the Earth when the center of the Moon's shadow misses the Earth.
A partial eclipse was visible in parts of Antarctica, New Zealand, and eastern Oceania.
Images
Eclipse timing Places experiencing partial eclipse Solar Eclipse of April 17, 1996(Local Times)Country or territory City or placeStart of partial eclipseMaximum eclipseEnd of partial eclipseDuration of eclipse (hr:min)Maximum coverage Macquarie Island 06:31:39 07:21:44 08:14:48 1:43 20.58% Queenstown 08:41:01 09:22:20 10:06:01 1:25 7.99% Oban 08:37:48 09:22:47 10:10:30 1:33 10.99% Greymouth 08:46:39 09:24:03 10:03:26 1:17 5.28% Dunedin 08:39:16 09:24:38 10:12:45 1:33 10.62% Christchurch 08:43:36 09:26:03 10:10:59 1:27 7.87% Nelson 08:49:28 09:26:13 10:04:53 1:15 4.69% New Plymouth 08:57:36 09:26:54 09:57:25 1:00 2.16% Blenheim 08:48:30 09:27:07 10:07:49 1:19 5.44% Auckland 09:11:13 09:27:45 09:44:40 0:33 0.35% Wellington 08:48:55 09:28:07 10:09:28 1:21 5.60% Whanganui 08:53:17 09:28:17 10:05:01 1:12 3.78% Hamilton 09:03:06 09:28:29 09:54:47 0:52 1.32% Te Awamutu 09:01:45 09:28:33 09:56:22 0:55 1.56% Palmerston North 08:51:33 09:29:06 10:08:35 1:17 4.70% Whitianga 09:09:01 09:29:06 09:49:46 0:41 0.62% Taupō 08:57:41 09:29:37 10:02:59 1:05 2.70% Tauranga 09:02:36 09:29:45 09:57:57 0:55 1.59% Rotorua 09:00:07 09:29:52 10:00:52 1:01 2.13% Napier 08:53:59 09:30:51 10:09:33 1:16 4.24% Whakatāne 09:00:21 09:30:57 10:02:51 1:03 2.28% Gisborne 08:56:33 09:32:27 10:10:05 1:14 3.75% Chatham Islands 09:28:42 10:25:27 11:25:40 1:57 17.03% Zucchelli Station 09:42:47 (sunrise) 09:53:45 10:52:06 1:09 59.07% Dumont d'Urville Station 08:15:11 (sunrise) 08:20:47 08:26:22 0:11 2.24% McMurdo Station 10:32:12 (sunrise) 10:44:16 10:56:45 0:25 8.62% Papeete 12:52:40 13:01:45 13:10:46 0:18 0.03% Gambier Islands 13:19:55 14:23:13 15:21:25 2:02 14.33% Adamstown 13:51:21 14:58:37 15:59:37 2:08 19.84% Easter Island 16:50:04 17:49:32 18:43:05 1:53 24.30%References:
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 attained the specific parameter, and the second table describes various other parameters pertaining to this eclipse.
+April 17, 1996 solar eclipse times Event Time (UTC) First penumbral external contact 1996 April 17 at 20:32:24.8 UTC Equatorial conjunction 1996 April 17 at 22:06:05.6 UTC Greatest eclipse 1996 April 17 at 22:38:12.1 UTC Ecliptic conjunction 1996 April 17 at 22:49:47.9 UTC Last penumbral external contact 1996 April 18 at 00:44:20.0 UTC
+April 17, 1996 solar eclipse parameters Parameter Value Eclipse magnitude 0.87994 Eclipse obscuration 0.84058 Gamma −1.05796 Sun right ascension 01h44m43.7s Sun declination +10°49'43.1" Sun semi-diameter 15'55.6" Sun equatorial horizontal parallax 08.8" Moon right ascension 01h45m48.3s Moon declination +09°51'28.1" Moon semi-diameter 15'35.4" Moon equatorial horizontal parallax 0°57'13.0" ΔT 61.8 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 April 1996 April 4Ascending node (full moon) April 17Descending node (new moon) Total lunar eclipseLunar Saros 122 Partial solar eclipseSolar Saros 148
Related eclipses Eclipses in 1996 A total lunar eclipse on April 4 A partial solar eclipse on April 17 A total lunar eclipse on September 27 A partial solar eclipse on October 12
Metonic Preceded by: Solar eclipse of June 30, 1992 Followed by: Solar eclipse of February 5, 2000
Tzolkinex Preceded by: Solar eclipse of March 7, 1989 Followed by: Solar eclipse of May 31, 2003
Half-Saros Preceded by: Lunar eclipse of April 14, 1987 Followed by: Lunar eclipse of April 24, 2005
Tritos Preceded by: Solar eclipse of May 19, 1985 Followed by: Solar eclipse of March 19, 2007
Solar Saros 148 Preceded by: Solar eclipse of April 7, 1978 Followed by: Solar eclipse of April 29, 2014
Inex Preceded by: Solar eclipse of May 9, 1967 Followed by: Solar eclipse of March 29, 2025
Triad Preceded by: Solar eclipse of June 17, 1909 Followed by: Solar eclipse of February 16, 2083
Solar eclipses of 1993–1996
Saros 148
Metonic series
Tritos series
Inex series
Notes
References
External links NASA graphics