A total solar eclipse occurred at the Moon's descending node of orbit on Tuesday, June 30, 1992, with a magnitude of 1.0592. 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 1.5 days before perigee (on July 2, 1992, at 1:30 UTC), the Moon's apparent diameter was larger.

Totality was visible in southeastern Uruguay and southern tip of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. A partial eclipse was visible for parts of central South America, West Africa, Central Africa, and Southern Africa.

Observations

The path of totality was mostly on the sea and covered very little land. From the only land covered by it in southeastern Uruguay and southern tip of Brazil, totality occurred shortly after sunrise, with the solar zenith angle less than 3°. Observation from an airplane over the middle of South Atlantic Ocean, near the location of maximum eclipse, could offer a duration of totality of up to 10 minutes with the guarantee of clear weather. However, due to the limitations in the cruising capabilities and the economic cost, a feasible flight plan was to see 5 to 6 minutes of totality on the airplane. 48 people from the United States, Canada, Brazil, Germany, Japan and Great Britain boarded a VASP airline DC-10 plane, departing from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, flying over the South Atlantic Ocean and returning to Rio de Janeiro. The passengers got off and the captain flew the airplane back to São Paulo. Although adjustment in the flying speed had to be made according to the take-off time and wind speed, the pilot flew the airplane into Moon's umbra within 1 second of the predicted time, and the passengers on board successfully saw the total eclipse. Accidentally, one of the ground support personnel did not exit the airplane before takeoff, and she also saw the eclipse. The pilots were also attracted by the eclipse, still watching the Moon's shadow moving into the distance and forgetting to fly the airplane back return even minutes after the third contact (the end of the total phase). The captain described this as the most unusual flight he ever commanded. VASP airline also provided a Boeing 737 plane to the . Planetarium staff, of their astronomy club, local dignitaries, politicians and celebrities were also invited.

Eclipse timing Places experiencing total eclipse Solar Eclipse of June 30, 1992(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 Minas 07:48:04 (sunrise) 07:59:56 08:00:51 08:01:46 09:09:09 1:50 1:21 1.0053 Montevideo 07:53:15 (sunrise) 07:59:52 08:00:55 08:01:59 09:08:40 2:07 1:15 1.0075 Rocha 07:44:44 (sunrise) 08:00:05 08:01:30 08:02:57 09:10:22 2:52 1:26 1.0168 Maldonado 07:48:18 (sunrise) 08:00:10 08:01:37 08:03:06 09:10:06 2:56 1:22 1.0199 Punta del Este 07:48:17 (sunrise) 08:00:12 08:01:41 08:03:10 09:10:10 2:58 1:22 1.0209References:

Places experiencing partial eclipse Solar Eclipse of June 30, 1992(Local Times)Country or territory City or placeStart of partial eclipseMaximum eclipseEnd of partial eclipseDuration of eclipse (hr:min)Maximum coverage Asunción 06:36:45 (sunrise) 06:50:34 07:54:53 1:18 70.39% Rivera 07:40:46 (sunrise) 07:56:51 09:04:39 1:24 91.22% Sucre 06:54:47 (sunrise) 06:57:14 07:36:39 0:42 33.74% Tacuarembó 07:44:29 (sunrise) 07:57:28 09:05:06 1:21 93.07% Durazno 07:50:42 (sunrise) 07:59:00 09:06:28 1:16 97.10% Rio de Janeiro 06:53:12 07:59:31 09:15:23 2:22 83.05% Canelones 07:52:37 (sunrise) 08:00:26 09:08:07 1:16 99.93% La Paz 07:01:31 (sunrise) 07:03:55 07:29:01 0:28 17.33% Buenos Aires 08:01:15 (sunrise) 08:04:09 09:05:55 1:05 92.94% King Edward Point 08:48:00 (sunrise) 09:45:36 10:52:07 2:04 52.30% Santiago 07:47:21 (sunrise) 07:48:24 07:54:05 0:07 3.25% Stanley 07:59:16 (sunrise) 08:03:36 08:27:07 0:28 22.57% Jamestown 10:42:52 12:14:38 13:45:05 3:02 74.77% Orcadas Base 09:10:24 (sunrise) 09:17:22 09:48:47 0:38 28.39% São Tomé 11:38:07 12:33:06 13:25:17 1:47 10.32% Bouvet Island 13:31:19 14:42:08 15:50:33 2:19 60.13% Île de la Possession 17:29:12 17:52:08 17:55:48 (sunset) 0:27 24.06% Luanda 12:47:27 13:55:24 14:57:15 2:10 24.06% Brazzaville 13:04:23 13:55:35 14:43:06 1:39 9.74% Kinshasa 13:04:22 13:55:41 14:43:19 1:39 9.83% Lubango 12:42:52 14:00:08 15:09:30 2:27 41.06% Windhoek 13:50:42 15:09:52 16:20:21 2:30 57.39% Cape Town 13:52:01 15:12:05 16:24:00 2:32 88.66% Gaborone 14:13:03 15:22:45 16:25:02 2:12 46.78% Lusaka 14:31:03 15:23:28 16:11:17 1:40 16.53% Maseru 14:13:13 15:24:19 16:27:57 2:15 58.16% Johannesburg 14:16:53 15:25:13 16:26:25 2:10 47.55% Harare 14:35:00 15:27:25 16:15:13 1:40 18.36% Mbabane 14:23:44 15:28:24 16:26:33 2:03 42.33% Maputo 14:27:13 15:29:45 16:26:07 1:59 38.75%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.

+June 30, 1992 Solar Eclipse Times Event Time (UTC) First Penumbral External Contact 1992 June 30 at 09:51:53.8 UTC First Umbral External Contact 1992 June 30 at 11:00:47.0 UTC First Central Line 1992 June 30 at 11:02:41.9 UTC First Umbral Internal Contact 1992 June 30 at 11:04:38.8 UTC Greatest Duration 1992 June 30 at 12:10:22.2 UTC Greatest Eclipse 1992 June 30 at 12:11:21.8 UTC Ecliptic Conjunction 1992 June 30 at 12:18:59.8 UTC Equatorial Conjunction 1992 June 30 at 12:24:21.9 UTC Last Umbral Internal Contact 1992 June 30 at 13:17:54.3 UTC Last Central Line 1992 June 30 at 13:19:52.9 UTC Last Umbral External Contact 1992 June 30 at 13:21:49.6 UTC Last Penumbral External Contact 1992 June 30 at 14:30:41.0 UTC

+June 30, 1992 Solar Eclipse Parameters Parameter Value Eclipse Magnitude 1.05916 Eclipse Obscuration 1.12183 Gamma −0.75120 Sun Right Ascension 06h38m55.2s Sun Declination +23°08'19.2" Sun Semi-Diameter 15'43.9" Sun Equatorial Horizontal Parallax 08.6" Moon Right Ascension 06h38m23.1s Moon Declination +22°23'36.1" Moon Semi-Diameter 16'28.8" Moon Equatorial Horizontal Parallax 1°00'29.0" ΔT 58.7 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 1992 June 15Ascending node (full moon) June 30Descending node (new moon) Partial lunar eclipseLunar Saros 120 Total solar eclipseSolar Saros 146

Related eclipses Eclipses in 1992 An annular solar eclipse on January 4. A partial lunar eclipse on June 15. A total solar eclipse on June 30. A total lunar eclipse on December 9. A partial solar eclipse on December 24.

Metonic Preceded by: Solar eclipse of September 11, 1988 Followed by: Solar eclipse of April 17, 1996

Tzolkinex Preceded by: Solar eclipse of May 19, 1985 Followed by: Solar eclipse of August 11, 1999

Half-Saros Preceded by: Lunar eclipse of June 25, 1983 Followed by: Lunar eclipse of July 5, 2001

Tritos Preceded by: Solar eclipse of July 31, 1981 Followed by: Solar eclipse of May 31, 2003

Solar Saros 146 Preceded by: Solar eclipse of June 20, 1974 Followed by: Solar eclipse of July 11, 2010

Inex Preceded by: Solar eclipse of July 20, 1963 Followed by: Solar eclipse of June 10, 2021

Triad Preceded by: Solar eclipse of August 30, 1905 Followed by: Solar eclipse of May 1, 2079

Solar eclipses of 1990–1992

Saros 146

Metonic series

Tritos series

Inex series

Notes

References