A total solar eclipse occurred at the Moon's descending node of orbit between Thursday, November 22 and Friday, November 23, 1984,[1] with a magnitude of 1.0237. 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 2.1 days after perigee (on November 20, 1984, at 20:50 UTC), the Moon's apparent diameter was larger.[2]
Totality was visible in Indonesia, Papua New Guinea and southern Pacific Ocean. West of the International Date Line the eclipse took place on November 23, including all land in the path of totality. A partial eclipse was visible for parts of Indonesia, Australia, Oceania, Antarctica, and extreme southern South America.
Jay Pasachoff led an observation team from Williams College in Massachusetts to Papua New Guinea, taking images of the process of the eclipse and the corona, as well as the Baily's beads and the illuminance of the corona. Besides the observations, the team members also went to places near the Sepik River in northern Papua New Guinea.[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 | 1984 November 22 at 20:14:19.4 UTC | |
| First Umbral External Contact | 1984 November 22 at 21:13:34.5 UTC | |
| First Central Line | 1984 November 22 at 21:13:48.2 UTC | |
| First Umbral Internal Contact | 1984 November 22 at 21:14:01.9 UTC | |
| First Penumbral Internal Contact | 1984 November 22 at 22:19:19.9 UTC | |
| Greatest Eclipse | 1984 November 22 at 22:54:16.8 UTC | |
| Greatest Duration | 1984 November 22 at 22:55:25.9 UTC | |
| Ecliptic Conjunction | 1984 November 22 at 22:57:34.7 UTC | |
| Equatorial Conjunction | 1984 November 22 at 23:04:48.0 UTC | |
| Last Penumbral Internal Contact | 1984 November 22 at 23:28:57.9 UTC | |
| Last Umbral Internal Contact | 1984 November 23 at 00:34:27.7 UTC | |
| Last Central Line | 1984 November 23 at 00:34:39.2 UTC | |
| Last Umbral External Contact | 1984 November 23 at 00:34:50.7 UTC | |
| Last Penumbral External Contact | 1984 November 23 at 01:34:14.6 UTC |
| Eclipse Magnitude | 1.02368 | |
| Eclipse Obscuration | 1.04792 | |
| Gamma | −0.31318 | |
| Sun Right Ascension | 15h54m44.1s | |
| Sun Declination | -20°19'37.3" | |
| Sun Semi-Diameter | 16'11.9" | |
| Sun Equatorial Horizontal Parallax | 08.9" | |
| Moon Right Ascension | 15h54m19.9s | |
| Moon Declination | -20°37'27.2" | |
| Moon Semi-Diameter | 16'19.2" | |
| Moon Equatorial Horizontal Parallax | 0°59'53.7" | |
| ΔT | 54.3 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.