Solar eclipse of December 17, 2066

A total solar eclipse will occur at the Moon's ascending node of orbit between Thursday, December 16 and Friday, December 17, 2066, with a magnitude of 1.0416. 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 18.5 hours before perigee, the Moon's apparent diameter will be larger.
The path of totality will be visible from parts of southwestern Australia and Stewart Island of New Zealand. A partial solar eclipse will also be visible for parts of Indonesia, Australia, Antarctica, and Oceania.
This total eclipse follows a similar path to the eclipse on December 25–26, 2038.

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.

Event	Time
First Penumbral External Contact	2066 December 16 at 21:49:58.3 UTC
First Umbral External Contact	2066 December 16 at 22:48:21.3 UTC
First Central Line	2066 December 16 at 22:49:05.7 UTC
First Umbral Internal Contact	2066 December 16 at 22:49:50.2 UTC
First Penumbral Internal Contact	2066 December 17 at 00:01:22.6 UTC
Ecliptic Conjunction	2066 December 17 at 00:19:30.7 UTC
Equatorial Conjunction	2066 December 17 at 00:20:59.4 UTC
Greatest Duration	2066 December 17 at 00:23:31.6 UTC
Greatest Eclipse	2066 December 17 at 00:23:39.9 UTC
Last Penumbral Internal Contact	2066 December 17 at 00:46:01.7 UTC
Last Umbral Internal Contact	2066 December 17 at 01:57:30.4 UTC
Last Central Line	2066 December 17 at 01:58:15.8 UTC
Last Umbral External Contact	2066 December 17 at 01:59:01.2 UTC
Last Penumbral External Contact	2066 December 17 at 02:57:20.6 UTC

Parameter	Value
Eclipse Magnitude	1.04155
Eclipse Obscuration	1.08483
Gamma	−0.40428
Sun Right Ascension	17h39m46.4s
Sun Declination	-23°20'56.0"
Sun Semi-Diameter	16'15.1"
Sun Equatorial Horizontal Parallax	08.9"
Moon Right Ascension	17h39m53.3s
Moon Declination	-23°45'32.9"
Moon Semi-Diameter	16'39.9"
Moon Equatorial Horizontal Parallax	1°01'09.6"
ΔT	95.3 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.