A total solar eclipse occurred at the Moon's ascending node of orbit on Saturday, June 11, 1983,[1] with a magnitude of 1.0524. 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 before perigee (on June 13, 1983, at 6:50 UTC), the Moon's apparent diameter was larger.[2]
The path of totality went through Christmas Islands, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, and terminated in Vanuatu. The maximum eclipse occurred off the Indonesian island of Madura. Major Indonesian cities witnessed totality, including Yogyakarta, Semarang, Surabaya, and Makassar, in addition to Port Moresby in Papua New Guinea. A partial eclipse was visible for parts of Madagascar, Southeast Asia, Australia, and western Oceania.
To avoid blindness, Indonesian dictator president Suharto prohibited local people from observing the eclipse directly through then Information Minister Harmoko, only allowing foreigners to observe from faraway places. Besides the requirements of closing and draping over all windows and airshafts, children were asked to hide themselves in cupboards and below desks as the eclipsing sun's rays were said to be more dangerous to children than to adults. They were allowed to watch a live broadcast of the eclipse occurring over Borobudur Temple in Magelang, Central Java, on state-owned TV channel TVRI. Because of the difference in restriction's intensity between regions, some locals did observe it.[3]
The Chinese Eclipse Observation Team formed by Beijing Astronomical Observatory (now incorporated into the National Astronomical Observatories of China), Purple Mountain Observatory and Nanjing Astronomical Instrument Factory conducted observation in Port Moresby. Observation in Port Moresby was successful due to the cloudless weather during the eclipse, compared with the cloudy weather in Yogyakarta where teams from many countries went. The Chinese team did spectrum observations of the chromosphere and corona, the broadband corona luminosity and polarization, and the coloured photography of the whole eclipse process.[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 | 1983 June 11 at 02:10:25.6 UTC | |
| First Umbral External Contact | 1983 June 11 at 03:11:02.4 UTC | |
| First Central Line | 1983 June 11 at 03:12:11.5 UTC | |
| First Umbral Internal Contact | 1983 June 11 at 03:13:20.8 UTC | |
| Equatorial Conjunction | 1983 June 11 at 04:34:18.1 UTC | |
| Ecliptic Conjunction | 1983 June 11 at 04:38:24.4 UTC | |
| Greatest Eclipse | 1983 June 11 at 04:43:33.5 UTC | |
| Greatest Duration | 1983 June 11 at 04:47:29.5 UTC | |
| Last Umbral Internal Contact | 1983 June 11 at 06:13:50.0 UTC | |
| Last Central Line | 1983 June 11 at 06:15:01.3 UTC | |
| Last Umbral External Contact | 1983 June 11 at 06:16:12.4 UTC | |
| Last Penumbral External Contact | 1983 June 11 at 07:16:41.1 UTC |
| Eclipse Magnitude | 1.05240 | |
| Eclipse Obscuration | 1.10755 | |
| Gamma | −0.49475 | |
| Sun Right Ascension | 05h15m15.1s | |
| Sun Declination | +23°02'34.8" | |
| Sun Semi-Diameter | 15'45.1" | |
| Sun Equatorial Horizontal Parallax | 08.7" | |
| Moon Right Ascension | 05h15m37.5s | |
| Moon Declination | +22°33'26.4" | |
| Moon Semi-Diameter | 16'20.3" | |
| Moon Equatorial Horizontal Parallax | 0°59'57.8" | |
| ΔT | 53.3 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.
| June 25 Descending node (full moon) | ||
| Total solar eclipse Solar Saros 127 | Partial lunar eclipse Lunar Saros 139 |
Photos: