A total solar eclipse will occur at the Moon's ascending node of orbit between Thursday, December 16 and Friday, December 17, 2066, with a magnitude of 1.0416. 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 18.5 hours before perigee (on December 17, 2066, at 19:00 UTC), the Moon's apparent diameter will be larger.
The path of totality will be visible from parts of southwestern Australia and Stewart Island of New Zealand. A partial solar eclipse will also be visible for parts of Indonesia, Australia, Antarctica, and Oceania.
This total eclipse follows a similar path to the eclipse on December 25–26, 2038.
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 17, 2066 Solar Eclipse Times Event Time (UTC) First Penumbral External Contact 2066 December 16 at 21:49:58.3 UTC First Umbral External Contact 2066 December 16 at 22:48:21.3 UTC First Central Line 2066 December 16 at 22:49:05.7 UTC First Umbral Internal Contact 2066 December 16 at 22:49:50.2 UTC First Penumbral Internal Contact 2066 December 17 at 00:01:22.6 UTC Ecliptic Conjunction 2066 December 17 at 00:19:30.7 UTC Equatorial Conjunction 2066 December 17 at 00:20:59.4 UTC Greatest Duration 2066 December 17 at 00:23:31.6 UTC Greatest Eclipse 2066 December 17 at 00:23:39.9 UTC Last Penumbral Internal Contact 2066 December 17 at 00:46:01.7 UTC Last Umbral Internal Contact 2066 December 17 at 01:57:30.4 UTC Last Central Line 2066 December 17 at 01:58:15.8 UTC Last Umbral External Contact 2066 December 17 at 01:59:01.2 UTC Last Penumbral External Contact 2066 December 17 at 02:57:20.6 UTC
+December 17, 2066 Solar Eclipse Parameters Parameter Value Eclipse Magnitude 1.04155 Eclipse Obscuration 1.08483 Gamma −0.40428 Sun Right Ascension 17h39m46.4s Sun Declination -23°20'56.0" Sun Semi-Diameter 16'15.1" Sun Equatorial Horizontal Parallax 08.9" Moon Right Ascension 17h39m53.3s Moon Declination -23°45'32.9" Moon Semi-Diameter 16'39.9" Moon Equatorial Horizontal Parallax 1°01'09.6" ΔT 95.3 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 December 2066 December 17Ascending node (new moon) December 31Descending node (full moon) Total solar eclipseSolar Saros 133 Penumbral lunar eclipseLunar Saros 145
Related eclipses Eclipses in 2066 A total lunar eclipse on January 11. An annular solar eclipse on June 22. A partial lunar eclipse on July 7. A total solar eclipse on December 17. A penumbral lunar eclipse on December 31.
Metonic Preceded by: Solar eclipse of February 28, 2063 Followed by: Solar eclipse of October 4, 2070
Tzolkinex Preceded by: Solar eclipse of November 5, 2059 Followed by: Solar eclipse of January 27, 2074
Half-Saros Preceded by: Lunar eclipse of December 11, 2057 Followed by: Lunar eclipse of December 22, 2075
Tritos Preceded by: Solar eclipse of January 16, 2056 Followed by: Solar eclipse of November 15, 2077
Solar Saros 133 Preceded by: Solar eclipse of December 5, 2048 Followed by: Solar eclipse of December 27, 2084
Inex Preceded by: Solar eclipse of January 5, 2038 Followed by: Solar eclipse of November 27, 2095
Triad Preceded by: Solar eclipse of February 16, 1980 Followed by: Solar eclipse of October 17, 2153
Solar eclipses of 2065–2069
Saros 133
Metonic series
Tritos series
Inex series
Notes
References