A total solar eclipse occurred at the Moon's ascending node of orbit on Thursday, April 16, 1874, with a magnitude of 1.0569. 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 16 hours after perigee (on April 15, 1874, at 22:45 UTC), the Moon's apparent diameter was larger.
The path of totality was visible from parts of modern-day southern Namibia, South Africa, and Lesotho. A partial solar eclipse was also visible for parts of southern South America, Antarctica, Southern Africa, and Central Africa.
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.
+April 16, 1874 Solar Eclipse Times Event Time (UTC) First Penumbral External Contact 1874 April 16 at 11:48:36.3 UTC First Umbral External Contact 1874 April 16 at 13:02:40.7 UTC First Central Line 1874 April 16 at 13:04:57.8 UTC First Umbral Internal Contact 1874 April 16 at 13:07:19.0 UTC Equatorial Conjunction 1874 April 16 at 13:17:18.5 UTC Ecliptic Conjunction 1874 April 16 at 13:52:28.7 UTC Greatest Eclipse 1874 April 16 at 14:00:52.7 UTC Greatest Duration 1874 April 16 at 14:01:57.1 UTC Last Umbral Internal Contact 1874 April 16 at 14:54:54.7 UTC Last Central Line 1874 April 16 at 14:57:14.8 UTC Last Umbral External Contact 1874 April 16 at 14:59:30.9 UTC Last Penumbral External Contact 1874 April 16 at 16:13:28.2 UTC
+April 16, 1874 Solar Eclipse Parameters Parameter Value Eclipse Magnitude 1.05692 Eclipse Obscuration 1.11707 Gamma −0.83637 Sun Right Ascension 01h37m54.7s Sun Declination +10°11'33.9" Sun Semi-Diameter 15'55.5" Sun Equatorial Horizontal Parallax 08.8" Moon Right Ascension 01h39m28.1s Moon Declination +09°25'57.8" Moon Semi-Diameter 16'40.8" Moon Equatorial Horizontal Parallax 1°01'12.9" ΔT -2.8 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 April–May 1874 April 16, 1874Ascending node (new moon) May 1Descending node (full moon) Total solar eclipseSolar Saros 117 Partial lunar eclipseLunar Saros 129
Related eclipses Eclipses in 1874 A total solar eclipse on April 16. A partial lunar eclipse on May 1. An annular solar eclipse on October 10. A total lunar eclipse on October 25.
Metonic Preceded by: Solar eclipse of June 28, 1870 Followed by: Solar eclipse of February 2, 1878
Tzolkinex Preceded by: Solar eclipse of March 6, 1867 Followed by: Solar eclipse of May 27, 1881
Half-Saros Preceded by: Lunar eclipse of April 11, 1865 Followed by: Lunar eclipse of April 22, 1883
Tritos Preceded by: Solar eclipse of May 17, 1863 Followed by: Solar eclipse of March 16, 1885
Solar Saros 117 Preceded by: Solar eclipse of April 5, 1856 Followed by: Solar eclipse of April 26, 1892
Inex Preceded by: Solar eclipse of May 6, 1845 Followed by: Solar eclipse of March 29, 1903
Triad Preceded by: Solar eclipse of June 15, 1787 Followed by: Solar eclipse of February 15, 1961
Solar eclipses of 1874–1877
The partial solar eclipse on August 9, 1877 occurs in the next lunar year eclipse set.
Solar eclipse series sets from 1874 to 1877 Ascending node Descending node Saros Map Gamma Saros Map Gamma 117 April 16, 1874Total −0.8364 122 October 10, 1874Annular 0.9889 127 April 6, 1875Total −0.1292 132 September 29, 1875Annular 0.2427 137 March 25, 1876Annular 0.6142 142 September 17, 1876Total −0.5054 147 March 15, 1877Partial 1.3924 152 September 7, 1877Partial −1.1985
Saros 117
Metonic series
Tritos series
Inex series
References
NASA chart graphics Googlemap NASA Besselian elements