A total solar eclipse occurred at the Moon's ascending node of orbit on Sunday, October 12, 1958, with a magnitude of 1.0608. 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 5.5 hours before perigee (on October 13, 1958, at 2:30 UTC), the Moon's apparent diameter was larger.
Totality was visible in Tokelau, Cook Islands, French Polynesia, Chile and Argentina. A partial eclipse was visible for parts of Eastern Australia, Oceania, and western South America.
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.
+October 12, 1958 Solar Eclipse Times Event Time (UTC) First Penumbral External Contact 1958 October 12 at 18:20:31.5 UTC First Umbral External Contact 1958 October 12 at 19:15:58.5 UTC First Central Line 1958 October 12 at 19:17:11.0 UTC First Umbral Internal Contact 1958 October 12 at 19:18:23.5 UTC First Penumbral Internal Contact 1958 October 12 at 20:18:33.1 UTC Ecliptic Conjunction 1958 October 12 at 20:52:27.4 UTC Greatest Eclipse 1958 October 12 at 20:55:28.0 UTC Greatest Duration 1958 October 12 at 20:57:26.1 UTC Equatorial Conjunction 1958 October 12 at 21:04:31.8 UTC Last Penumbral Internal Contact 1958 October 12 at 21:32:08.7 UTC Last Umbral Internal Contact 1958 October 12 at 22:32:25.5 UTC Last Central Line 1958 October 12 at 22:33:38.3 UTC Last Umbral External Contact 1958 October 12 at 22:34:51.1 UTC Last Penumbral External Contact 1958 October 12 at 23:30:19.6 UTC
+October 12, 1958 Solar Eclipse Parameters Parameter Value Eclipse Magnitude 1.06084 Eclipse Obscuration 1.12539 Gamma −0.29506 Sun Right Ascension 13h10m12.6s Sun Declination -07°27'01.0" Sun Semi-Diameter 16'01.8" Sun Equatorial Horizontal Parallax 08.8" Moon Right Ascension 13h09m51.7s Moon Declination -07°44'19.9" Moon Semi-Diameter 16'43.7" Moon Equatorial Horizontal Parallax 1°01'23.7" ΔT 32.6 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 October 1958 October 12Ascending node (new moon) October 27Descending node (full moon) Total solar eclipseSolar Saros 133 Penumbral lunar eclipseLunar Saros 145
Related eclipses Eclipses in 1958 A penumbral lunar eclipse on April 4. An annular solar eclipse on April 19. A partial lunar eclipse on May 3. A total solar eclipse on October 12. A penumbral lunar eclipse on October 27.
Metonic Preceded by: Solar eclipse of December 25, 1954 Followed by: Solar eclipse of July 31, 1962
Tzolkinex Preceded by: Solar eclipse of September 1, 1951 Followed by: Solar eclipse of November 23, 1965
Half-Saros Preceded by: Lunar eclipse of October 7, 1949 Followed by: Lunar eclipse of October 18, 1967
Tritos Preceded by: Solar eclipse of November 12, 1947 Followed by: Solar eclipse of September 11, 1969
Solar Saros 133 Preceded by: Solar eclipse of October 1, 1940 Followed by: Solar eclipse of October 23, 1976
Inex Preceded by: Solar eclipse of November 1, 1929 Followed by: Solar eclipse of September 23, 1987
Triad Preceded by: Solar eclipse of December 12, 1871 Followed by: Solar eclipse of August 12, 2045
Solar eclipses of 1957–1960
Saros 133
Metonic series
Tritos series
Inex series
Notes
References