A total solar eclipse occurred at the Moon's descending node of orbit on Monday, February 5, 1962,[1] with a magnitude of 1.043. 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 21.5 hours before perigee (on February 5, 1962, at 21:40 UTC), the Moon's apparent diameter was larger.[2]
Totality was visible from Indonesia, Netherlands New Guinea (now belonging to Indonesia), the Territory of Papua New Guinea (today's Papua New Guinea), British Solomon Islands (today's Solomon Islands), and Palmyra Atoll. A partial eclipse was visible for parts of East Asia, Australia, Oceania, Hawaii, and western North America.
A team sent by Kyoto University of Japan observed this eclipse in Lae, the second largest city and a port on the east coast of the Territory Papua New Guinea. The spectrum was analyzed with spectrophotometry, and photometry of the inner corona was conducted.[3]
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.[4]
| First Penumbral External Contact | 1962 February 04 at 21:34:34.9 UTC | |
| First Umbral External Contact | 1962 February 04 at 22:30:37.9 UTC | |
| First Central Line | 1962 February 04 at 22:31:19.7 UTC | |
| First Umbral Internal Contact | 1962 February 04 at 22:32:01.6 UTC | |
| First Penumbral Internal Contact | 1962 February 04 at 23:30:13.6 UTC | |
| Greatest Duration | 1962 February 05 at 00:10:27.2 UTC | |
| Ecliptic Conjunction | 1962 February 05 at 00:10:27.6 UTC | |
| Greatest Eclipse | 1962 February 05 at 00:12:37.8 UTC | |
| Equatorial Conjunction | 1962 February 05 at 00:17:05.8 UTC | |
| Last Penumbral Internal Contact | 1962 February 05 at 00:54:55.5 UTC | |
| Last Umbral Internal Contact | 1962 February 05 at 01:53:09.3 UTC | |
| Last Central Line | 1962 February 05 at 01:53:52.4 UTC | |
| Last Umbral External Contact | 1962 February 05 at 01:54:35.4 UTC | |
| Last Penumbral External Contact | 1962 February 05 at 02:50:36.1 UTC |
| Eclipse Magnitude | 1.04296 | |
| Eclipse Obscuration | 1.08777 | |
| Gamma | 0.21066 | |
| Sun Right Ascension | 21h12m42.3s | |
| Sun Declination | -16°07'38.7" | |
| Sun Semi-Diameter | 16'13.3" | |
| Sun Equatorial Horizontal Parallax | 08.9" | |
| Moon Right Ascension | 21h12m31.6s | |
| Moon Declination | -15°55'04.4" | |
| Moon Semi-Diameter | 16'38.3" | |
| Moon Equatorial Horizontal Parallax | 1°01'03.7" | |
| ΔT | 34.0 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.