A total solar eclipse occurred at the Moon's descending node of orbit between Friday, June 8 and Saturday, June 9, 1956,[1] with a magnitude of 1.0581. 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 1.3 days before perigee (on June 10, 1956, at 4:10 UTC), the Moon's apparent diameter was larger.[2]
It began near sunrise over New Zealand on June 9 (Saturday), and ended west of South America on June 8 (Friday). A partial eclipse was visible for most of 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.[3]
| First Penumbral External Contact | 1956 June 08 at 19:11:21.5 UTC | |
| First Umbral External Contact | 1956 June 08 at 20:31:34.6 UTC | |
| First Central Line | 1956 June 08 at 20:34:31.6 UTC | |
| First Umbral Internal Contact | 1956 June 08 at 20:37:38.2 UTC | |
| Greatest Eclipse | 1956 June 08 at 21:20:39.3 UTC | |
| Greatest Duration | 1956 June 08 at 21:20:59.3 UTC | |
| Equatorial Conjunction | 1956 June 08 at 21:21:17.5 UTC | |
| Ecliptic Conjunction | 1956 June 08 at 21:29:39.0 UTC | |
| Last Umbral Internal Contact | 1956 June 08 at 22:03:38.5 UTC | |
| Last Central Line | 1956 June 08 at 22:06:46.5 UTC | |
| Last Umbral External Contact | 1956 June 08 at 22:09:44.9 UTC | |
| Last Penumbral External Contact | 1956 June 08 at 23:29:54.1 UTC |
| Eclipse Magnitude | 1.05810 | |
| Eclipse Obscuration | 1.11958 | |
| Gamma | −0.89341 | |
| Sun Right Ascension | 05h07m54.5s | |
| Sun Declination | +22°54'13.6" | |
| Sun Semi-Diameter | 15'45.2" | |
| Sun Equatorial Horizontal Parallax | 08.7" | |
| Moon Right Ascension | 05h07m52.9s | |
| Moon Declination | +22°00'05.8" | |
| Moon Semi-Diameter | 16'32.9" | |
| Moon Equatorial Horizontal Parallax | 1°00'44.0" | |
| ΔT | 31.5 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.
| June 8 Descending node (new moon) | ||
| Partial lunar eclipse Lunar Saros 120 | Total solar eclipse Solar Saros 146 |