A total solar eclipse will occur at the Moon's descending node of orbit on Thursday, December 15, 2039,[1] with a magnitude of 1.0356. 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 4.5 hours before perigee (on December 15, 2039, at 20:55 UTC), the Moon's apparent diameter will be larger.[2]
The totality of the eclipse begins in the southern Pacific Ocean, passing over much of Antarctica and closely reaching the South Pole. A partial eclipse will be visible in the southern extremities of South America and Africa. It will terminate in the southern Indian Ocean several hours later.[3]
Animated path
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.[4]
| First Penumbral External Contact | 2039 December 15 at 14:18:57.1 UTC | |
| First Umbral External Contact | 2039 December 15 at 15:48:33.4 UTC | |
| First Central Line | 2039 December 15 at 15:51:02.4 UTC | |
| First Umbral Internal Contact | 2039 December 15 at 15:53:42.4 UTC | |
| Greatest Eclipse | 2039 December 15 at 16:23:45.9 UTC | |
| Greatest Duration | 2039 December 15 at 16:23:51.5 UTC | |
| Ecliptic Conjunction | 2039 December 15 at 16:33:15.1 UTC | |
| Equatorial Conjunction | 2039 December 15 at 16:38:03.7 UTC | |
| Last Umbral Internal Contact | 2039 December 15 at 16:53:39.5 UTC | |
| Last Central Line | 2039 December 15 at 16:56:19.9 UTC | |
| Last Umbral External Contact | 2039 December 15 at 16:58:49.2 UTC | |
| Last Penumbral External Contact | 2039 December 15 at 18:28:28.1 UTC |
| Eclipse Magnitude | 1.03558 | |
| Eclipse Obscuration | 1.07243 | |
| Gamma | −0.94577 | |
| Sun Right Ascension | 17h31m51.4s | |
| Sun Declination | -23°16'37.6" | |
| Sun Semi-Diameter | 16'14.9" | |
| Sun Equatorial Horizontal Parallax | 08.9" | |
| Moon Right Ascension | 17h31m14.4s | |
| Moon Declination | -24°13'58.8" | |
| Moon Semi-Diameter | 16'44.6" | |
| Moon Equatorial Horizontal Parallax | 1°01'26.8" | |
| ΔT | 78.5 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.
