A total solar eclipse occurred at the Moon’s descending node of orbit on Saturday, December 4, 2021, with a magnitude of 1.0367. A total solar eclipse occurs when the Moon's apparent diameter is larger than the Sun's and the apparent path of the Sun and Moon intersect, blocking all direct sunlight and turning daylight into darkness; the Sun appears to be black with a halo around it. 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 2.5 hours before perigee (on December 4, 2021, at 10:00 UTC), the Moon's apparent diameter was larger.
This eclipse was unusual as the path of the total eclipse moved from east to west across West Antarctica, while most eclipse paths move from west to east. This reversal is only possible in polar regions. Its path across Antarctica crossed near Berkner Island, traversed an arc over the continent and passed over Shepard Island. A partial eclipse was visible for parts of Southern Africa, Antarctica, and Tasmania.
Images
Animated path
Eclipse timing Places experiencing total eclipse Solar Eclipse of December 4, 2021(Local Times)Country or territory City or placeStart of partial eclipseStart of total eclipseMaximum eclipseEnd of total eclipseEnd of partial eclipseDuration of totality (min:s)Duration of eclipse (hr:min)Maximum magnitude Orcadas Base 03:20:18 04:08:52 04:09:22 04:09:51 05:00:07 0:59 1:40 1.0035References:
Places experiencing partial eclipse Solar Eclipse of December 4, 2021(Local Times)Country or territory City or placeStart of partial eclipseMaximum eclipseEnd of partial eclipseDuration of eclipse (hr:min)Maximum coverage Jamestown 05:42:25 (sunrise) 05:56:45 06:21:54 0:39 5.51% Swakopmund 07:45:43 08:00:44 08:16:08 0:30 0.80% Walvis Bay 07:44:50 08:01:06 08:17:51 0:33 1.02% Bloemfontein 08:08:31 08:14:21 08:20:15 0:12 0.03% Mafeteng 08:10:33 08:16:10 08:21:50 0:11 0.03% Cape Town 07:42:28 08:19:08 08:58:04 1:16 11.66% Stellenbosch 07:42:58 08:19:18 08:57:54 1:15 11.21% George 07:47:45 08:20:53 08:55:52 1:08 7.55% Makhanda 07:55:57 08:21:56 08:49:05 0:53 3.14% Gqeberha 07:53:20 08:22:33 08:53:13 1:00 4.65% Edinburgh of the Seven Seas 05:38:04 06:24:11 07:13:15 1:35 52.46% Bouvet Island 06:58:09 07:51:44 08:48:39 1:51 63.13% King Edward Point 04:08:23 04:57:07 05:47:57 1:40 96.62% Marion Island 09:15:03 09:57:35 10:42:18 1:27 12.00% Île de la Possession 11:51:45 12:15:42 12:40:08 0:48 1.43% Carlini Base 03:29:26 04:17:25 05:06:40 1:37 95.81% Esperanza Base 03:29:38 04:18:01 05:07:43 1:38 96.14% Marambio Base 03:30:16 04:18:53 05:08:48 1:39 96.19% Stanley 04:29:49 (sunrise) 04:34:16 04:52:35 0:23 27.61% Puerto Williams 04:49:57 (sunrise) 04:55:01 05:01:39 0:12 6.31% Ushuaia 04:53:35 (sunrise) 04:59:27 05:01:54 0:08 1.43% Oban 21:11:21 21:23:35 21:27:27 (sunset) 0:16 10.53% Casey Station 18:34:13 19:27:20 20:18:34 1:44 37.24% Macquarie Island 19:03:23 19:49:00 20:32:44 1:29 42.87% Canberra 19:56:55 20:02:43 20:05:45 (sunset) 0:09 0.62% Hobart 19:34:16 20:06:02 20:35:44 (sunset) 1:01 10.98% Traralgon 19:49:24 20:11:03 20:24:11 (sunset) 0:35 3.36% Melbourne 19:53:13 20:11:57 20:29:22 (sunset) 0:36 2.10%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 attains the specific parameter, and the second table describes various other parameters pertaining to this eclipse.
+December 4, 2021 Solar Eclipse Times Event Time (UTC) First Penumbral External Contact 2021 December 4 at 05:30:26.5 UTC First Umbral External Contact 2021 December 4 at 07:01:16.7 UTC First Central Line 2021 December 4 at 07:04:03.2 UTC First Umbral Internal Contact 2021 December 4 at 07:07:04.8 UTC Greatest Eclipse 2021 December 4 at 07:34:37.9 UTC Greatest Duration 2021 December 4 at 07:34:40.1 UTC Ecliptic Conjunction 2021 December 4 at 07:44:11.1 UTC Equatorial Conjunction 2021 December 4 at 07:57:20.3 UTC Last Umbral Internal Contact 2021 December 4 at 08:01:55.8 UTC Last Central Line 2021 December 4 at 08:04:57.6 UTC Last Umbral External Contact 2021 December 4 at 08:07:44.3 UTC Last Penumbral External Contact 2021 December 4 at 09:38:39.3 UTC
+December 4, 2021 Solar Eclipse Parameters Parameter Value Eclipse Magnitude 1.03673 Eclipse Obscuration 1.07481 Gamma −0.95261 Sun Right Ascension 16h43m32.4s Sun Declination -22°16'29.4" Sun Semi-Diameter 16'13.6" Sun Equatorial Horizontal Parallax 08.9" Moon Right Ascension 16h42m35.0s Moon Declination -23°13'22.3" Moon Semi-Diameter 16'44.7" Moon Equatorial Horizontal Parallax 1°01'27.3" ΔT 70.6 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 November–December 2021 November 19Ascending node (full moon) December 4Descending node (new moon) Partial lunar eclipseLunar Saros 126 Total solar eclipseSolar Saros 152
Related eclipses Eclipses in 2021 A total lunar eclipse on May 26. An annular solar eclipse on June 10. A partial lunar eclipse on November 19. A total solar eclipse on December 4.
Metonic Preceded by: Solar eclipse of February 15, 2018 Followed by: Solar eclipse of September 21, 2025
Tzolkinex Preceded by: Solar eclipse of October 23, 2014 Followed by: Solar eclipse of January 14, 2029
Half-Saros Preceded by: Lunar eclipse of November 28, 2012 Followed by: Lunar eclipse of December 9, 2030
Tritos Preceded by: Solar eclipse of January 4, 2011 Followed by: Solar eclipse of November 3, 2032
Solar Saros 152 Preceded by: Solar eclipse of November 23, 2003 Followed by: Solar eclipse of December 15, 2039
Inex Preceded by: Solar eclipse of December 24, 1992 Followed by: Solar eclipse of November 14, 2050
Triad Preceded by: Solar eclipse of February 3, 1935 Followed by: Solar eclipse of October 5, 2108
Solar eclipses of 2018–2021
Saros 152
Metonic series
Tritos series
Inex series
Notes
References solar-eclipse.de: The total solar eclipse of 12/04/2021