A partial eclipse of the Sun occurred on Sunday 21 December, 1862 UT (9 Dec, 1862 Old Style), with maximum eclipse at 04:52 UT. A moderate partial eclipse, with 70% of the Sun covered for viewers closest to the center, created an interesting spectacle.

Maximum eclipse was at 04:52:56 UT.

During this eclipse the Sun was 0.542° in apparent diameter, 1.7% larger than average. The Moon was at perigee, making it very large. At maximum eclipse it was 0.558° in apparent diameter, which is 5.1% larger than average. This has no real effect on this eclipse, since the Moon's central shadow misses the Earth, making this a partial eclipse. The statistics page has information on the ranges of the sizes of the Sun and Moon, and the Moon data page displays detailed information on the Moon's key dates.

Overview Map

This map sourced from NASA Goddard Space flight Center: GSFC Eclipse Web SiteGSFC Eclipse Web Site
The primary source of all the information on eclipses presented here at Hermit Eclipse. (NASA Goddard Space flight Center)
https://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/eclipse.html
shows the visibility of the partial solar eclipse. (Click on it for the full-sized version.)

Eclipse Season and Saros Series

This eclipse season contains 3 eclipses:

This was the 12th eclipse in solar Saros series 149.The surrounding eclipses in this Saros series are:

This Saros series, solar Saros series 149, is linked to lunar Saros series 142. The nearest partner eclipses in that series are:

Eclipse Parameters

UT Date/time (max) 04:52:56 on 21 Dec UT TDT Date/time (max) 04:53:03 on 21 Dec TDT
Saros Series 149 Number in Series 12
Penumbral Magnitiude Central Magnitiude 0.7016
Gamma 1.1633 Path Width (km) 0
Delta T 0m07s Error ± 0m00s (95%)
Penumbral Duration Partial Duration
Total Duration
Partial Rating Total Rating
Sun Distance 147146478 km (1.1%) Moon Distance 356746 km (0.7%)
Sun Diameter 0.542° Moon Diameter 0.558° - 0.558°
Perigee 03:47 on 21 Dec UT Apogee 13:50 on 3 Jan UT

Note that while all dates and times on this site (except where noted) are in UT, which is within a second of civil time, the dates and times shown in NASA's eclipse listingsGSFC Eclipse Web Site
The primary source of all the information on eclipses presented here at Hermit Eclipse. (NASA Goddard Space flight Center)
https://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/eclipse.html
are in the TDT timescale.

The Sun and Moon distances are shown in km, and as a percentage of their minimum - maximum distances; hence 0% is the closest possible (Earth's perihelion, or the Moon's closest possible perigee) and 100% is the farthest (aphelion, the farthest apogee). The statistics page has information on the ranges of sizes of the Sun and Moon, and the Moon data page displays detailed information on the Moon's key dates.

Data last updated: 2015-06-21 22:11:46 UTC.