A total solar eclipse occurred at the Moon's ascending node of orbit on Thursday, November 3, 1994,[1] with a magnitude of 1.0535. 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 only about 10 hours after perigee (on November 3, 1994, at 23:40 UTC), the Moon's apparent diameter was larger.[2]
Totality was visible in Peru, northern Chile, Bolivia, northern Argentina, Paraguay, Brazil and Gough Island of British overseas territory of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha. The Iguazu Falls, one of the largest waterfalls systems in the world, lay in the path of totality. A partial eclipse was visible for parts of Central America, South America, Antarctica, and Southern Africa.
Jay Pasachoff led an observation team from Williams College in Massachusetts, observing the total eclipse at a military base near Putre, Chile, in the Atacama Desert. The team took images of the corona and measured its brightness. Teams from Japan and South Korea also conducted observations nearby.[3] The Russian Academy of Sciences sent a team to Criciúma, Brazil, taking images of the corona in polarized light and proposing reconstruction of its ray structure.[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 | 1994 November 03 at 11:06:00.2 UTC | |
| First Umbral External Contact | 1994 November 03 at 12:02:38.7 UTC | |
| First Central Line | 1994 November 03 at 12:03:41.3 UTC | |
| First Umbral Internal Contact | 1994 November 03 at 12:04:44.0 UTC | |
| First Penumbral Internal Contact | 1994 November 03 at 13:09:15.5 UTC | |
| Ecliptic Conjunction | 1994 November 03 at 13:36:30.1 UTC | |
| Greatest Eclipse | 1994 November 03 at 13:40:06.0 UTC | |
| Greatest Duration | 1994 November 03 at 13:42:38.8 UTC | |
| Equatorial Conjunction | 1994 November 03 at 13:48:07.6 UTC | |
| Last Penumbral Internal Contact | 1994 November 03 at 14:10:44.2 UTC | |
| Last Umbral Internal Contact | 1994 November 03 at 15:15:21.7 UTC | |
| Last Central Line | 1994 November 03 at 15:16:24.9 UTC | |
| Last Umbral External Contact | 1994 November 03 at 15:17:28.1 UTC | |
| Last Penumbral External Contact | 1994 November 03 at 16:14:07.1 UTC |
| Eclipse Magnitude | 1.05351 | |
| Eclipse Obscuration | 1.10989 | |
| Gamma | −0.35216 | |
| Sun Right Ascension | 14h33m55.8s | |
| Sun Declination | -15°05'51.1" | |
| Sun Semi-Diameter | 16'07.4" | |
| Sun Equatorial Horizontal Parallax | 08.9" | |
| Moon Right Ascension | 14h33m36.5s | |
| Moon Declination | -15°26'53.7" | |
| Moon Semi-Diameter | 16'43.0" | |
| Moon Equatorial Horizontal Parallax | 1°01'21.1" | |
| ΔT | 60.6 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.
Photos: