A total solar eclipse will occur at the Moon's descending node of orbit on Thursday, May 31, 2068,[1] with a magnitude of 1.011. 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 4.7 days after perigee (on May 26, 2068, at 10:10 UTC), the Moon's apparent diameter will be larger.[2]
The path of totality will be visible from parts of Australia and New Zealand. A partial solar eclipse will also be visible for parts of Australia, Indonesia, Antarctica, and western Oceania.
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.[3]
| First Penumbral External Contact | 2068 May 31 at 01:32:00.7 UTC | |
| First Umbral External Contact | 2068 May 31 at 02:50:55.9 UTC | |
| First Central Line | 2068 May 31 at 02:50:59.6 UTC | |
| First Umbral Internal Contact | 2068 May 31 at 02:51:03.4 UTC | |
| Equatorial Conjunction | 2068 May 31 at 03:52:45.4 UTC | |
| Greatest Duration | 2068 May 31 at 03:54:49.9 UTC | |
| Greatest Eclipse | 2068 May 31 at 03:56:39.1 UTC | |
| Ecliptic Conjunction | 2068 May 31 at 04:05:16.2 UTC | |
| Last Umbral Internal Contact | 2068 May 31 at 05:02:20.5 UTC | |
| Last Central Line | 2068 May 31 at 05:02:21.5 UTC | |
| Last Umbral External Contact | 2068 May 31 at 05:02:22.5 UTC | |
| Last Penumbral External Contact | 2068 May 31 at 06:21:24.8 UTC |
| Eclipse Magnitude | 1.01098 | |
| Eclipse Obscuration | 1.02209 | |
| Gamma | −0.79704 | |
| Sun Right Ascension | 04h35m49.8s | |
| Sun Declination | +22°01'13.9" | |
| Sun Semi-Diameter | 15'46.5" | |
| Sun Equatorial Horizontal Parallax | 08.7" | |
| Moon Right Ascension | 04h35m58.7s | |
| Moon Declination | +21°15'11.0" | |
| Moon Semi-Diameter | 15'47.8" | |
| Moon Equatorial Horizontal Parallax | 0°57'58.6" | |
| ΔT | 96.3 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.