Solar eclipse of August 19, 1887


A total solar eclipse occurred at the Moon's ascending node of orbit on Friday, August 19, 1887, with a magnitude of 1.0518. 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 1.8 days before perigee, the Moon's apparent diameter was larger.
The path of totality was visible from parts of modern-day Germany, Poland, Belarus, Lithuania, southeastern Latvia, Russia, Mongolia, China, North Korea, and Japan. A partial solar eclipse was also visible for parts of Europe, Northeast Africa, Asia, northern Greenland, and Alaska.

Observations

The Russian chemist Dmitri Mendeleev ascended in a balloon near Moscow to observe this eclipse. The weather in Tver Governorate was cloudy and it was rain at morning, so Mendeleev forced to fly alone. He made some notes at 6:55, 20 minutes after the start, and made some observations of the solar corona. For this flight, the scientist was awarded the medal of the Academy of Aerostatic Meteorology.

Partiality at sunrise from Berlin, Germany
Ilya Repin, “The Solar Eclipse of 1887”, 1887.

Russian writer Anton Chekhov published the short story "From the Diary of a Hot-Tempered Man" six weeks before the eclipse passed through Russia. The story includes a major section about the frustrations of a man who is trying to make a great variety of observations during the short interval of totality. In the story the eclipse date is given as 7 August 1887, as per the Julian Calendar then in use in Russia.

Eclipse details

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.
EventTime
First Penumbral External Contact1887 August 19 at 03:05:23.2 UTC
First Umbral External Contact1887 August 19 at 04:09:44.3 UTC
First Central Line1887 August 19 at 04:11:03.8 UTC
First Umbral Internal Contact1887 August 19 at 04:12:23.8 UTC
Equatorial Conjunction1887 August 19 at 05:15:23.5 UTC
Greatest Duration1887 August 19 at 05:31:45.2 UTC
Greatest Eclipse1887 August 19 at 05:32:05.2 UTC
Ecliptic Conjunction1887 August 19 at 05:38:34.1 UTC
Last Umbral Internal Contact1887 August 19 at 06:51:56.7 UTC
Last Central Line1887 August 19 at 06:53:18.3 UTC
Last Umbral External Contact1887 August 19 at 06:54:39.5 UTC
Last Penumbral External Contact1887 August 19 at 07:58:51.2 UTC

ParameterValue
Eclipse Magnitude1.05176
Eclipse Obscuration1.10619
Gamma0.63124
Sun Right Ascension09h52m33.6s
Sun Declination+12°53'52.0"
Sun Semi-Diameter15'48.5"
Sun Equatorial Horizontal Parallax08.7"
Moon Right Ascension09h53m11.8s
Moon Declination+13°30'38.5"
Moon Semi-Diameter16'24.8"
Moon Equatorial Horizontal Parallax1°00'14.3"
ΔT-6.0 s

Eclipse season

This eclipse is part of an eclipse season, a period, roughly every six months, when eclipses occur. Only two eclipse seasons occur each year, and each season lasts about 35 days and repeats just short of six months 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.
August 3
Descending node
August 19
Ascending node
Partial lunar eclipse
Lunar Saros 117		Total solar eclipse
Solar Saros 143

Related eclipses

Eclipses in 1887

Metonic

Tzolkinex

  • Preceded by: Solar eclipse of July 7, 1880
  • Followed by: Solar eclipse of September 29, 1894

Half-Saros

  • Preceded by: Lunar eclipse of August 13, 1878
  • Followed by: Lunar eclipse of August 23, 1896

Tritos

  • Preceded by: Solar eclipse of September 17, 1876
  • Followed by: Solar eclipse of July 18, 1898

Solar Saros 143

Inex

Triad

Solar eclipses of 1884–1888

The partial solar eclipses on April 25, 1884 and October 19, 1884 occur in the previous lunar year eclipse set, and the partial solar eclipse on July 9, 1888 occurs in the next lunar year eclipse set.

Metonic series

All eclipses in this table occur at the Moon's ascending node.