A total solar eclipse will occur at the Moon's ascending node of orbit between Thursday, December 16 and Friday, December 17, 2066,[1] with a magnitude of 1.0416. 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 only about 18.5 hours before perigee (on December 17, 2066, at 19:00 UTC), the Moon's apparent diameter will be larger.[2]
The path of totality will be visible from parts of southwestern Australia and Stewart Island of New Zealand. A partial solar eclipse will also be visible for parts of Indonesia, Australia, Antarctica, and Oceania.
This total eclipse follows a similar path to the eclipse on December 25–26, 2038.
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.[3]
| First Penumbral External Contact | 2066 December 16 at 21:49:58.3 UTC | |
| First Umbral External Contact | 2066 December 16 at 22:48:21.3 UTC | |
| First Central Line | 2066 December 16 at 22:49:05.7 UTC | |
| First Umbral Internal Contact | 2066 December 16 at 22:49:50.2 UTC | |
| First Penumbral Internal Contact | 2066 December 17 at 00:01:22.6 UTC | |
| Ecliptic Conjunction | 2066 December 17 at 00:19:30.7 UTC | |
| Equatorial Conjunction | 2066 December 17 at 00:20:59.4 UTC | |
| Greatest Duration | 2066 December 17 at 00:23:31.6 UTC | |
| Greatest Eclipse | 2066 December 17 at 00:23:39.9 UTC | |
| Last Penumbral Internal Contact | 2066 December 17 at 00:46:01.7 UTC | |
| Last Umbral Internal Contact | 2066 December 17 at 01:57:30.4 UTC | |
| Last Central Line | 2066 December 17 at 01:58:15.8 UTC | |
| Last Umbral External Contact | 2066 December 17 at 01:59:01.2 UTC | |
| Last Penumbral External Contact | 2066 December 17 at 02:57:20.6 UTC |
| Eclipse Magnitude | 1.04155 | |
| Eclipse Obscuration | 1.08483 | |
| Gamma | −0.40428 | |
| Sun Right Ascension | 17h39m46.4s | |
| Sun Declination | -23°20'56.0" | |
| Sun Semi-Diameter | 16'15.1" | |
| Sun Equatorial Horizontal Parallax | 08.9" | |
| Moon Right Ascension | 17h39m53.3s | |
| Moon Declination | -23°45'32.9" | |
| Moon Semi-Diameter | 16'39.9" | |
| Moon Equatorial Horizontal Parallax | 1°01'09.6" | |
| ΔT | 95.3 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.