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.[1]
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.
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.[2]
| 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 |
| 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 |
See also: Eclipse cycle. 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.
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, 1870 Partial | −1.1949 | 120 | December 22, 1870 Total | 0.8585 | |
| 125 | June 18, 1871 Annular | −0.4550 | 130 | December 12, 1871 Total | 0.1836 | |
| 135 | June 6, 1872 Annular | 0.3095 | 140 | November 30, 1872 Hybrid | −0.5081 | |
| 145 | May 26, 1873 Partial | 1.0513 | 150 | November 20, 1873 Partial | −1.2625 | |
