A total solar eclipse occurred at the Moon's descending node of orbit on Saturday, November 12, 1966, with a magnitude of 1.0234. 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 2.25 days after perigee (on November 10, 1966, at 8:40 UTC), the Moon's apparent diameter was larger.
The path of totality cut a swath across South America from north of Lima, Peru, passing the northeastern tip of Chile, Bolivia, Northwest of Argentina, southwestern tip of Ñeembucú Department in Paraguay, nearly to the southernmost tip of Brazil. A partial eclipse was visible for parts of Central America, the Caribbean, South America, Antarctica, and Southern Africa.
Observations
The NASA Gemini XII mission observed this total eclipse from space: The Canary Island controller greeted the crew in the morning with the news that there would be a second maneuver - 5 meters forward - to line the vehicles up properly. The prospects panned out richly, and the crew reported seeing the eclipse "right on the money at 16:01:44 g.e.t." Although the crew thought for a moment that they were slightly off track, their aim had actually been accurate.
The 28 October 1966 launch of the U.S. Air Force's Orbiting Vehicle 3-2 (OV3-2) was timed such that it could observe ambient charged particle variations before, during, and after the eclipse.
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.
+November 12, 1966 Solar Eclipse Times Event Time (UTC) First Penumbral External Contact 1966 November 12 at 11:43:29.6 UTC First Umbral External Contact 1966 November 12 at 12:43:07.1 UTC First Central Line 1966 November 12 at 12:43:20.6 UTC First Umbral Internal Contact 1966 November 12 at 12:43:34.2 UTC First Penumbral Internal Contact 1966 November 12 at 13:50:12.8 UTC Greatest Eclipse 1966 November 12 at 14:23:27.6 UTC Greatest Duration 1966 November 12 at 14:24:40.6 UTC Ecliptic Conjunction 1966 November 12 at 14:26:56.5 UTC Equatorial Conjunction 1966 November 12 at 14:37:07.7 UTC Last Penumbral Internal Contact 1966 November 12 at 14:56:22.2 UTC Last Umbral Internal Contact 1966 November 12 at 16:03:15.2 UTC Last Central Line 1966 November 12 at 16:03:26.4 UTC Last Umbral External Contact 1966 November 12 at 16:03:37.7 UTC Last Penumbral External Contact 1966 November 12 at 17:03:24.9 UTC
+November 12, 1966 Solar Eclipse Parameters Parameter Value Eclipse Magnitude 1.02336 Eclipse Obscuration 1.04727 Gamma −0.33001 Sun Right Ascension 15h09m12.8s Sun Declination -17°40'44.2" Sun Semi-Diameter 16'09.6" Sun Equatorial Horizontal Parallax 08.9" Moon Right Ascension 15h08m42.7s Moon Declination -17°59'03.2" Moon Semi-Diameter 16'16.8" Moon Equatorial Horizontal Parallax 0°59'44.7" ΔT 37.3 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 October–November 1966 October 29Ascending node (full moon) November 12Descending node (new moon) Penumbral lunar eclipseLunar Saros 116 Total solar eclipseSolar Saros 142
Related eclipses Eclipses in 1966 A penumbral lunar eclipse on May 4. An annular solar eclipse on May 20. A penumbral lunar eclipse on October 29. A total solar eclipse on November 12.
Metonic Preceded by: Solar eclipse of January 25, 1963 Followed by: Solar eclipse of August 31, 1970
Tzolkinex Preceded by: Solar eclipse of October 2, 1959 Followed by: Solar eclipse of December 24, 1973
Half-Saros Preceded by: Lunar eclipse of November 7, 1957 Followed by: Lunar eclipse of November 18, 1975
Tritos Preceded by: Solar eclipse of December 14, 1955 Followed by: Solar eclipse of October 12, 1977
Solar Saros 142 Preceded by: Solar eclipse of November 1, 1948 Followed by: Solar eclipse of November 22, 1984
Inex Preceded by: Solar eclipse of December 2, 1937 Followed by: Solar eclipse of October 24, 1995
Triad Preceded by: Solar eclipse of January 11, 1880 Followed by: Solar eclipse of September 12, 2053
Solar eclipses of 1964–1967
Saros 142
Metonic series
Tritos series
Inex series
Notes
References