A total solar eclipse occurred at the Moon's ascending node of orbit on Saturday, June 11, 1983, with a magnitude of 1.0524. 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 2.1 days before perigee (on June 13, 1983, at 6:50 UTC), the Moon's apparent diameter was larger.
The path of totality went through Christmas Island, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, and terminated in Vanuatu. The maximum eclipse occurred off the Indonesian island of Madura. Major Indonesian cities witnessed totality, including Yogyakarta, Semarang, Surabaya, and Makassar, in addition to Port Moresby in Papua New Guinea. A partial eclipse was visible for parts of Madagascar, Southeast Asia, Australia, and western Oceania.
Restrictions of observation To avoid blindness, Indonesian dictator president Suharto prohibited local people from observing the eclipse directly through then Information Minister Harmoko, only allowing foreigners to observe from faraway places. Besides the requirements of closing and draping over all windows and airshafts, children were asked to hide themselves in cupboards and below desks as the eclipsing sun's rays were said to be more dangerous to children than to adults. They were allowed to watch a live broadcast of the eclipse occurring over Borobudur Temple in Magelang, Central Java, on state-owned TV channel TVRI. Because of the difference in restriction's intensity between regions, some locals did observe it.
Observation The Chinese Eclipse Observation Team formed by Beijing Astronomical Observatory (now incorporated into the National Astronomical Observatories of China), Purple Mountain Observatory and Nanjing Astronomical Instrument Factory conducted observation in Port Moresby. Observation in Port Moresby was successful due to the cloudless weather during the eclipse, compared with the cloudy weather in Yogyakarta where teams from many countries went. The Chinese team did spectrum observations of the chromosphere and corona, the broadband corona luminosity and polarization, and the coloured photography of the whole eclipse process.
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.
+June 11, 1983 Solar Eclipse Times Event Time (UTC) First Penumbral External Contact 1983 June 11 at 02:10:25.6 UTC First Umbral External Contact 1983 June 11 at 03:11:02.4 UTC First Central Line 1983 June 11 at 03:12:11.5 UTC First Umbral Internal Contact 1983 June 11 at 03:13:20.8 UTC Equatorial Conjunction 1983 June 11 at 04:34:18.1 UTC Ecliptic Conjunction 1983 June 11 at 04:38:24.4 UTC Greatest Eclipse 1983 June 11 at 04:43:33.5 UTC Greatest Duration 1983 June 11 at 04:47:29.5 UTC Last Umbral Internal Contact 1983 June 11 at 06:13:50.0 UTC Last Central Line 1983 June 11 at 06:15:01.3 UTC Last Umbral External Contact 1983 June 11 at 06:16:12.4 UTC Last Penumbral External Contact 1983 June 11 at 07:16:41.1 UTC
+June 11, 1983 Solar Eclipse Parameters Parameter Value Eclipse Magnitude 1.05240 Eclipse Obscuration 1.10755 Gamma −0.49475 Sun Right Ascension 05h15m15.1s Sun Declination +23°02'34.8" Sun Semi-Diameter 15'45.1" Sun Equatorial Horizontal Parallax 08.7" Moon Right Ascension 05h15m37.5s Moon Declination +22°33'26.4" Moon Semi-Diameter 16'20.3" Moon Equatorial Horizontal Parallax 0°59'57.8" ΔT 53.3 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 June 1983 June 11Ascending node (new moon) June 25Descending node (full moon) Total solar eclipseSolar Saros 127 Partial lunar eclipseLunar Saros 139
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 August 22, 1979 Followed by: Solar eclipse of March 29, 1987
Tzolkinex Preceded by: Solar eclipse of April 29, 1976 Followed by: Solar eclipse of July 22, 1990
Half-Saros Preceded by: Lunar eclipse of June 4, 1974 Followed by: Lunar eclipse of June 15, 1992
Tritos Preceded by: Solar eclipse of July 10, 1972 Followed by: Solar eclipse of May 10, 1994
Solar Saros 127 Preceded by: Solar eclipse of May 30, 1965 Followed by: Solar eclipse of June 21, 2001
Inex Preceded by: Solar eclipse of June 30, 1954 Followed by: Solar eclipse of May 20, 2012
Triad Preceded by: Solar eclipse of August 9, 1896 Followed by: Solar eclipse of April 11, 2070
Solar eclipses of 1982–1985
Saros 127
Metonic series
Tritos series
Inex series
Notes
References
Photos: Prof. Druckmüller's eclipse photography site Solar Corona Shape The 1983 Eclipse in Java