A total solar eclipse occurred at the Moon's ascending node of orbit on Tuesday, October 24, 1995,[1] with a magnitude of 1.0213. 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 2.7 days before perigee (on October 26, 1995, at 21:00 UTC), the Moon's apparent diameter was larger.[2]
The path of totality went through Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, southwestern tip of Bangladesh, Burma, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, Spratly Islands, northeastern tip of Sabah of Malaysia, Philippines and Indonesia. A partial eclipse was visible for parts of Northeast Africa, Asia, Australia, and northern Oceania.
An aerial observation of this eclipse was done over India,[3] when a MiG-25 reconnaissance aircraft of the Indian Air Force was used to take images of this eclipse at an altitude of 25 km.[4]
The Indian Institute of Astrophysics established camps along the path of totality in Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Iradatganj and Diamond Harbour near Kolkata. Astronomers from other institutions and abroad from the Slovakia, Brazil, Russia, Japan and Germany joined IIA at its camps. An IIA team also photographed the eclipse by chasing the Moon’s shadow in an Indian Air Force plane AN-32 from the crew escape hatch on the roof of the cockpit at an altitude of 10000feet above the sea level, which was the first time efforts made by the institute. Doordarshan and All India Radio made live coverages of the eclipse. The eclipse happened to occur on the day of the Diwali.[5]
Within the Spratly Islands claimed by China, only Cuarteron Reef was controlled by China and lay in the path of totality. Instead of going to the faraway island, The Popular Science Committee of the Chinese Astronomical Society, Beijing Astronomical Society, Beijing Planetarium and Beijing Astronomical Observatory (now incorporated into the National Astronomical Observatories of China) jointly organized observations abroad for the first time. A team of 4 was sent to Sikhio district, Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand by the Beijing Planetarium, and successfully photographed the whole process of the eclipse, the corona at the greatest eclipse, and the Baily's beads at the 2nd and 3rd contact.[6]
In addition, the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Ministry of Electronics Industry, China Earthquake Administration, State Education Commission (now Ministry of Education) and departments in charge of water conservancy and meteorology conducted joint observations on changes of solar radiation, ionosphere, geomagnetic field, radio and acoustic heavy waves, mainly in the Paracel Islands, Sanya, Haikou and Zhengzhou. From all these places, only a partial solar eclipse was visible instead of a total solar eclipse.[7]
Phil Whitaker's prize-winning debut novel Eclipse of the Sun published in 1997 and set in India has at its centre a dramatic attempt to organize a public viewing of the eclipse.
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.[9]
| First Penumbral External Contact | 1995 October 24 at 01:52:54.3 UTC | |
| First Umbral External Contact | 1995 October 24 at 02:53:31.6 UTC | |
| First Central Line | 1995 October 24 at 02:53:39.8 UTC | |
| First Umbral Internal Contact | 1995 October 24 at 02:53:47.9 UTC | |
| First Penumbral Internal Contact | 1995 October 24 at 04:03:07.3 UTC | |
| Equatorial Conjunction | 1995 October 24 at 04:23:32.2 UTC | |
| Greatest Eclipse | 1995 October 24 at 04:33:30.5 UTC | |
| Ecliptic Conjunction | 1995 October 24 at 04:37:13.7 UTC | |
| Greatest Duration | 1995 October 24 at 04:37:39.5 UTC | |
| Last Penumbral Internal Contact | 1995 October 24 at 05:04:10.7 UTC | |
| Last Umbral Internal Contact | 1995 October 24 at 06:13:17.4 UTC | |
| Last Central Line | 1995 October 24 at 06:13:27.9 UTC | |
| Last Umbral External Contact | 1995 October 24 at 06:13:38.5 UTC | |
| Last Penumbral External Contact | 1995 October 24 at 07:14:06.3 UTC |
| Eclipse Magnitude | 1.02135 | |
| Eclipse Obscuration | 1.04315 | |
| Gamma | 0.35176 | |
| Sun Right Ascension | 13h52m45.4s | |
| Sun Declination | -11°34'24.4" | |
| Sun Semi-Diameter | 16'04.7" | |
| Sun Equatorial Horizontal Parallax | 08.8" | |
| Moon Right Ascension | 13h53m07.2s | |
| Moon Declination | -11°14'17.0" | |
| Moon Semi-Diameter | 16'10.1" | |
| Moon Equatorial Horizontal Parallax | 0°59'20.4" | |
| ΔT | 61.4 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: