A total solar eclipse occurred at the Moon's descending node of orbit on Tuesday, December 12, 1871, with a magnitude of 1.0465. 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 10.5 hours before perigee (on December 12, 1871, at 14:40 UTC), the Moon's apparent diameter was larger.
The path of totality was visible from parts of modern-day India, Indonesia, Australia, and the Solomon Islands. A partial solar eclipse was also visible for parts of the Middle East, Central Asia, South Asia, Southeast Asia, Australia, and Oceania.
Observations
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 12, 1871 Solar Eclipse Times Event Time (UTC) First Penumbral External Contact 1871 December 12 at 01:26:08.7 UTC First Umbral External Contact 1871 December 12 at 02:21:32.0 UTC First Central Line 1871 December 12 at 02:22:19.2 UTC First Umbral Internal Contact 1871 December 12 at 02:23:06.3 UTC First Penumbral Internal Contact 1871 December 12 at 03:20:05.5 UTC Equatorial Conjunction 1871 December 12 at 04:00:15.7 UTC Ecliptic Conjunction 1871 December 12 at 04:01:45.0 UTC Greatest Eclipse 1871 December 12 at 04:03:38.0 UTC Greatest Duration 1871 December 12 at 04:07:16.3 UTC Last Penumbral Internal Contact 1871 December 12 at 04:47:15.4 UTC Last Umbral Internal Contact 1871 December 12 at 05:44:11.2 UTC Last Central Line 1871 December 12 at 05:44:58.8 UTC Last Umbral External Contact 1871 December 12 at 05:45:46.5 UTC Last Penumbral External Contact 1871 December 12 at 06:41:07.5 UTC
+December 12, 1871 Solar Eclipse Parameters Parameter Value Eclipse Magnitude 1.04651 Eclipse Obscuration 1.09519 Gamma 0.18356 Sun Right Ascension 17h15m20.1s Sun Declination -23°03'31.7" Sun Semi-Diameter 16'14.9" Sun Equatorial Horizontal Parallax 08.9" Moon Right Ascension 17h15m28.6s Moon Declination -22°52'28.0" Moon Semi-Diameter 16'43.2" Moon Equatorial Horizontal Parallax 1°01'21.7" ΔT -1.0 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 1871 December 12Descending node (new moon) December 26Ascending node (full moon) Total solar eclipseSolar Saros 130 Penumbral lunar eclipseLunar Saros 142
Related eclipses Eclipses in 1871 A partial lunar eclipse on January 6. An annular solar eclipse on June 18. A partial lunar eclipse on July 2. A total solar eclipse on December 12. A penumbral lunar eclipse on December 26.
Metonic Preceded by: Solar eclipse of February 23, 1868 Followed by: Solar eclipse of September 29, 1875
Tzolkinex Preceded by: Solar eclipse of October 30, 1864 Followed by: Solar eclipse of January 22, 1879
Half-Saros Preceded by: Lunar eclipse of December 6, 1862 Followed by: Lunar eclipse of December 16, 1880
Tritos Preceded by: Solar eclipse of January 11, 1861 Followed by: Solar eclipse of November 10, 1882
Solar Saros 130 Preceded by: Solar eclipse of November 30, 1853 Followed by: Solar eclipse of December 22, 1889
Inex Preceded by: Solar eclipse of December 31, 1842 Followed by: Solar eclipse of November 22, 1900
Triad Preceded by: Solar eclipse of February 9, 1785 Followed by: Solar eclipse of October 12, 1958
Solar eclipses of 1870–1873
The partial solar eclipses on January 31, 1870 and July 28, 1870 occurs in the previous lunar year eclipse set.
Solar eclipse series sets from 1870 to 1873 Ascending node Descending node Saros Map Gamma Saros Map Gamma 115 June 28, 1870Partial −1.1949 120 December 22, 1870Total 0.8585 125 June 18, 1871Annular −0.4550 130 December 12, 1871Total 0.1836 135 June 6, 1872Annular 0.3095 140 November 30, 1872Hybrid −0.5081 145 May 26, 1873Partial 1.0513 150 November 20, 1873Partial −1.2625
Saros 130
Metonic series
Tritos series
Inex series
References
NASA chart graphics Googlemap NASA Besselian elements Sketch of Solar Corona 1871 December 12