A total solar eclipse occurred at the Moon's ascending node of orbit on Tuesday, September 8, 1885, with a magnitude of 1.0332. 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 2.3 days after perigee (on September 6, 1885, at 14:05 UTC), the Moon's apparent diameter was larger.
The path of totality was visible from parts of modern-day New Zealand and Antarctica. A partial solar eclipse was also visible for parts of Oceania, Antarctica, and southern 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.
+September 8, 1885 Solar Eclipse Times Event Time (UTC) First Penumbral External Contact 1885 September 8 at 18:35:56.3 UTC First Umbral External Contact 1885 September 8 at 19:54:54.3 UTC First Central Line 1885 September 8 at 19:56:11.9 UTC First Umbral Internal Contact 1885 September 8 at 19:57:30.8 UTC Ecliptic Conjunction 1885 September 8 at 20:43:07.3 UTC Greatest Duration 1885 September 8 at 20:50:23.2 UTC Greatest Eclipse 1885 September 8 at 20:51:51.9 UTC Equatorial Conjunction 1885 September 8 at 21:19:51.3 UTC Last Umbral Internal Contact 1885 September 8 at 21:45:54.9 UTC Last Central Line 1885 September 8 at 21:47:11.6 UTC Last Umbral External Contact 1885 September 8 at 21:48:27.1 UTC Last Penumbral External Contact 1885 September 8 at 23:07:38.7 UTC
+September 8, 1885 Solar Eclipse Parameters Parameter Value Eclipse Magnitude 1.03319 Eclipse Obscuration 1.06749 Gamma −0.84889 Sun Right Ascension 11h09m38.6s Sun Declination +05°24'05.1" Sun Semi-Diameter 15'53.2" Sun Equatorial Horizontal Parallax 08.7" Moon Right Ascension 11h08m38.3s Moon Declination +04°35'47.3" Moon Semi-Diameter 16'16.5" Moon Equatorial Horizontal Parallax 0°59'43.9" ΔT -5.8 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 September 1885 September 8Ascending node (new moon) September 24Descending node (full moon) Total solar eclipseSolar Saros 123 Partial lunar eclipseLunar Saros 135
Related eclipses Eclipses in 1885 An annular solar eclipse on March 16. A partial lunar eclipse on March 30. A total solar eclipse on September 8. A partial lunar eclipse on September 24.
Metonic Preceded by: Solar eclipse of November 21, 1881 Followed by: Solar eclipse of June 28, 1889
Tzolkinex Preceded by: Solar eclipse of July 29, 1878 Followed by: Solar eclipse of October 20, 1892
Half-Saros Preceded by: Lunar eclipse of September 3, 1876 Followed by: Lunar eclipse of September 15, 1894
Tritos Preceded by: Solar eclipse of October 10, 1874 Followed by: Solar eclipse of August 9, 1896
Solar Saros 123 Preceded by: Solar eclipse of August 29, 1867 Followed by: Solar eclipse of September 21, 1903
Inex Preceded by: Solar eclipse of September 29, 1856 Followed by: Solar eclipse of August 21, 1914
Triad Preceded by: Solar eclipse of November 8, 1798 Followed by: Solar eclipse of July 10, 1972
Solar eclipses of 1884–1888
The partial solar eclipses on April 25, 1884 and October 19, 1884 occur in the previous lunar year eclipse set, and the partial solar eclipse on July 9, 1888 occurs in the next lunar year eclipse set.
Solar eclipse series sets from 1884 to 1888 Descending node Ascending node Saros Map Gamma Saros Map Gamma 108 March 27, 1884Partial 1.4602 113 118 March 16, 1885Annular 0.8030 123 September 8, 1885Total −0.8489 128 March 5, 1886Annular 0.0970 133 August 29, 1886Total −0.1059 138 February 22, 1887Annular −0.6040 143 August 19, 1887Total 0.6312 148 February 11, 1888Partial −1.2684 153 August 7, 1888Partial −1.2797
Saros 123
Metonic series
Tritos series
Inex series
References
NASA graphic Googlemap NASA Besselian elements
Note on the track of the total phase in the solar eclipse of, September 8, 1885, in its passage across New Zealand, Hind, J. R. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, Vol. 45, p. 126 Art. LIX.—The Total Eclipse of the Sun of the 9th September, 1885 Transactions and Proceedings of the Royal Society of New Zealand Transactions and Proceedings of the Royal Society of New Zealand Second Meeting. 13th July, 1885.