A total solar eclipse occurred at the Moon's descending node of orbit on Saturday, November 12, 1966,[1] with a magnitude of 1.0234. 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 2.25 days after perigee (on November 10, 1966, at 8:40 UTC), the Moon's apparent diameter was larger.[2]
The path of totality cut a swath across South America from north of Lima, Peru, passing the northeastern tip of Chile, Bolivia, Northwest of Argentina, southwestern tip of Ñeembucú Department in Paraguay, nearly to the southernmost tip of Brazil. A partial eclipse was visible for parts of Central America, the Caribbean, South America, Antarctica, and Southern Africa.
The NASA Gemini XII mission observed this total eclipse from space:
The Canary Island controller greeted the crew in the morning with the news that there would be a second maneuver - 5 meters forward - to line the vehicles up properly. The prospects panned out richly, and the crew reported seeing the eclipse "right on the money at 16:01:44 g.e.t." Although the crew thought for a moment that they were slightly off track, their aim had actually been accurate.[3]
The 28 October 1966 launch of the U.S. Air Force's Orbiting Vehicle 3-2 (OV3-2) was timed such that it could observe ambient charged particle variations before, during, and after the eclipse.[4]
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.[5]
| First Penumbral External Contact | 1966 November 12 at 11:43:29.6 UTC | |
| First Umbral External Contact | 1966 November 12 at 12:43:07.1 UTC | |
| First Central Line | 1966 November 12 at 12:43:20.6 UTC | |
| First Umbral Internal Contact | 1966 November 12 at 12:43:34.2 UTC | |
| First Penumbral Internal Contact | 1966 November 12 at 13:50:12.8 UTC | |
| Greatest Eclipse | 1966 November 12 at 14:23:27.6 UTC | |
| Greatest Duration | 1966 November 12 at 14:24:40.6 UTC | |
| Ecliptic Conjunction | 1966 November 12 at 14:26:56.5 UTC | |
| Equatorial Conjunction | 1966 November 12 at 14:37:07.7 UTC | |
| Last Penumbral Internal Contact | 1966 November 12 at 14:56:22.2 UTC | |
| Last Umbral Internal Contact | 1966 November 12 at 16:03:15.2 UTC | |
| Last Central Line | 1966 November 12 at 16:03:26.4 UTC | |
| Last Umbral External Contact | 1966 November 12 at 16:03:37.7 UTC | |
| Last Penumbral External Contact | 1966 November 12 at 17:03:24.9 UTC |
| Eclipse Magnitude | 1.02336 | |
| Eclipse Obscuration | 1.04727 | |
| Gamma | −0.33001 | |
| Sun Right Ascension | 15h09m12.8s | |
| Sun Declination | -17°40'44.2" | |
| Sun Semi-Diameter | 16'09.6" | |
| Sun Equatorial Horizontal Parallax | 08.9" | |
| Moon Right Ascension | 15h08m42.7s | |
| Moon Declination | -17°59'03.2" | |
| Moon Semi-Diameter | 16'16.8" | |
| Moon Equatorial Horizontal Parallax | 0°59'44.7" | |
| ΔT | 37.3 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.