Solar eclipse of December 4, 2021

Solar eclipse of December 4, 2021
Map
Type of eclipse
Nature	Total
Gamma	-0.9526
Magnitude	1.0367
Maximum eclipse
Duration	114 sec (1 m 54 s)
Coordinates	76°48′S 46°12′W / 76.8°S 46.2°W
Max. width of band	419 km (260 mi)
Times (UTC)
Greatest eclipse	7:34:38
References
Saros	152 (13 of 70)
Catalog # (SE5000)	9556

A total solar eclipse will occur on December 4, 2021. 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. This eclipse will be unusual as the path of the total eclipse will move from east to west across Antarctica, while most eclipse paths move from west to east. This reversal is only possible in polar regions.

Images

Animated path

Related eclipses

Solar eclipses of 2018-2021

Each member in a semester series of solar eclipses repeats approximately every 177 days and 4 hours (a semester) at alternating nodes of the Moon's orbit.

Note: Partial solar eclipses on February 15, 2018, and August 11, 2018, occur during the previous semester series.

Solar eclipse series sets from 2018–2021

Ascending node			Descending node
117	July 13, 2018 Partial		122	January 6, 2019 Partial
127	July 2, 2019 Total		132	December 26, 2019 Annular
137	June 21, 2020 Annular		142	December 14, 2020 Total
147	June 10, 2021 Annular		152	December 4, 2021 Total

Metonic series

The metonic series repeats eclipses every 19 years (6939.69 days), lasting about 5 cycles. Eclipses occur in nearly the same calendar date. In addition the octon subseries repeats 1/5 of that or every 3.8 years (1387.94 days).

21 eclipse events between July 11, 1953 and July 11, 2029 

July 10-11	April 29-30	February 15-16	December 4	September 21-23
116	118	120	122	124
July 11, 1953	April 30, 1957	February 15, 1961	December 4, 1964	September 22, 1968
126	128	130	132	134
July 10, 1972	April 29, 1976	February 16, 1980	December 4, 1983	September 23, 1987
136	138	140	142	144
July 11, 1991	April 29, 1995	February 16, 1999	December 4, 2002	September 22, 2006
146	148	150	152	154
July 11, 2010	April 29, 2014	February 15, 2018	December 4, 2021	September 21, 2025
156
July 11, 2029

Notes

References

• Earth visibility chart and eclipse statistics Eclipse Predictions by Fred Espenak, NASA/GSFC
  • Google interactive map
  • Besselian elements