A total eclipse of the Sun occurred on Saturday 20 July, 1963 UT, with maximum eclipse at 20:35 UT. The Sun was darkened for 1 minute and 40 seconds by a dramatic total eclipse covering a path up to 101 km wide. This was a sight worth seeing.

The total eclipse lasted for 1 minute and 40 seconds. Maximum eclipse was at 20:35:38 UT.

During this eclipse the Sun was 0.525° in apparent diameter, 1.6% smaller than average. The Moon was just 4 days past perigee, making it relatively large. At the start and end of the eclipse the Moon was 0.530°, and at maximum eclipse 0.536°, which is 1.0% larger than average; hence it covered the Sun, making this a total 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.

Interactive Map

This map shows the visibility of the eclipse. The shaded area saw the total solar eclipse; however, near the edges of this area, the eclipse was very short. The bold line shows the centre of the path, where the eclipse lasted longest.

Use the zoom controls to zoom in and out; hover your mouse over any point on the centreline to see the time and duration of the eclipse at that point. You can pan and zoom the map to see detail for any part of the eclipse path.

The interactive map is currently not available.

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 total solar eclipse. It also shows the broader area in which a partial eclipse was seen. (Click on it for the full-sized version.)

Eclipse Season and Saros Series

This eclipse season contains 2 eclipses:

This was the 19th eclipse in solar Saros series 145.The surrounding eclipses in this Saros series are:

This Saros series, solar Saros series 145, is linked to lunar Saros series 138. The nearest partner eclipses in that series are:

Eclipse Parameters

UT Date/time (max) 20:35:38 on 20 Jul UT TDT Date/time (max) 20:36:13 on 20 Jul TDT
Saros Series 145 Number in Series 19
Penumbral Magnitiude Central Magnitiude 1.0224
Gamma 0.6571 Path Width (km) 101
Delta T 0m35s Error ± 0m00s (95%)
Penumbral Duration Partial Duration
Total Duration 1m40s
Partial Rating Total Rating
Sun Distance 152019099 km (101.8%) Moon Distance 375821 km (38.6%)
Sun Diameter 0.525° Moon Diameter 0.530° - 0.536°
Perigee 18:26 on 16 Jul UT Apogee 23:38 on 28 Jul 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.