A total solar eclipse will occur at the Moon's descending node of orbit on Friday, May 20, 2050,[1] with a magnitude of 1.0038. It is a hybrid event, with only a fraction of its path as total, and longer sections at the start and end as an annular eclipse. 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 5.2 days after perigee (on May 15, 2050, at 16:40 UTC), the Moon's apparent diameter will be larger.[2]
This hybrid eclipse is notable in that it does not hit land anywhere on Earth. However, a partial solar eclipse will be visible for parts of New Zealand, eastern Oceania, and western South America.
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 | 2050 May 20 at 18:22:31.0 UTC | |
| First Umbral External Contact | 2050 May 20 at 19:48:47.9 UTC | |
| First Central Line | 2050 May 20 at 19:49:02.9 UTC | |
| First Umbral Internal Contact | 2050 May 20 at 19:49:18.0 UTC | |
| Equatorial Conjunction | 2050 May 20 at 20:31:51.3 UTC | |
| Greatest Duration | 2050 May 20 at 20:40:50.3 UTC | |
| Greatest Eclipse | 2050 May 20 at 20:42:50.2 UTC | |
| Ecliptic Conjunction | 2050 May 20 at 20:52:15.7 UTC | |
| Last Umbral Internal Contact | 2050 May 20 at 21:36:27.6 UTC | |
| Last Central Line | 2050 May 20 at 21:36:45.5 UTC | |
| Last Umbral External Contact | 2050 May 20 at 21:37:03.3 UTC | |
| Last Penumbral External Contact | 2050 May 20 at 23:03:20.1 UTC |
| Eclipse Magnitude | 1.00379 | |
| Eclipse Obscuration | 1.00760 | |
| Gamma | −0.86877 | |
| Sun Right Ascension | 03h51m25.4s | |
| Sun Declination | +20°09'01.9" | |
| Sun Semi-Diameter | 15'48.3" | |
| Sun Equatorial Horizontal Parallax | 08.7" | |
| Moon Right Ascension | 03h51m49.6s | |
| Moon Declination | +19°19'17.1" | |
| Moon Semi-Diameter | 15'44.7" | |
| Moon Equatorial Horizontal Parallax | 0°57'47.0" | |
| ΔT | 84.3 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.