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A total solar eclipse occurred at the Moon's descending node of orbit on Friday, October 3, 1986,[1] with a magnitude of 1. It was a hybrid event, with only a fraction of its path as total, and longer sections at the start and end as an annular eclipse. 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 hybrid solar eclipse is a rare type of solar eclipse that changes its appearance from annular to total and back as the Moon's shadow moves across the Earth's surface. Totality occurs between the annularity paths across the surface of the Earth, with the partial solar eclipse visible over a surrounding region thousands of kilometres wide. The Moon's apparent diameter was near the average diameter because it occurred 8.3 days after apogee (on September 25, 1986, at 11:00 UTC) and 3.7 days before perigee (on October 7, 1986, at 10:50 UTC).[2]
Totality occurred for a very short time (calculated at 0.08 seconds) in an area in the Atlantic Ocean, just east of the southern tip of Greenland. The path, on the surface of the Earth, was a narrow, tapered, horse-shoe, and visible only from a thin strip between Iceland and Greenland. A partial eclipse was visible for parts of North America, Central America, the Caribbean, northern South America, and Iceland. This eclipse was the last central eclipse of Solar Saros 124 and the only hybrid eclipse of that cycle.
Observations
The only witnesses of a few seconds of brief totality were the "Gang of Nine" eclipse chasers aboard a plane at an altitude of 40,000 feet.[3] The eclipse did not even appear as total due to irregularities in the lunar limb.[4]
The eclipse also resulted in litigation involving a Florida fourth grader whose eyes were allegedly damaged when he viewed the partial eclipse on school grounds. A lower court had dismissed the case on the grounds that the school had no duty to supervise the child after school hours. However, the Florida Court of Appeals ruled in 1994 that the jury instruction on that question was improper, and remanded the case.[5]
Eclipse details
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.[6]
| Event | Time (UTC) |
|---|---|
| First Penumbral External Contact | 1986 October 3 at 16:58:20.8 UTC |
| Equatorial Conjunction | 1986 October 3 at 18:07:22.2 UTC |
| Ecliptic Conjunction | 1986 October 3 at 18:55:40.6 UTC |
| First Umbral External Contact | 1986 October 3 at 18:55:55.1 UTC |
| First Central Line | 1986 October 3 at 18:56:25.6 UTC |
| Greatest Duration | 1986 October 3 at 18:56:25.6 UTC |
| First Umbral Internal Contact | 1986 October 3 at 18:56:57.6 UTC |
| Greatest Eclipse | 1986 October 3 at 19:06:15.0 UTC |
| Last Umbral Internal Contact | 1986 October 3 at 19:16:11.3 UTC |
| Last Central Line | 1986 October 3 at 19:16:40.7 UTC |
| Last Umbral External Contact | 1986 October 3 at 19:17:08.5 UTC |
| Last Penumbral External Contact | 1986 October 3 at 21:14:27.6 UTC |
| Parameter | Value |
|---|---|
| Eclipse Magnitude | 1.00002 |
| Eclipse Obscuration | 1.00004 |
| Gamma | 0.99305 |
| Sun Right Ascension | 12h37m45.8s |
| Sun Declination | -04°04'06.7" |
| Sun Semi-Diameter | 15'59.2" |
| Sun Equatorial Horizontal Parallax | 08.8" |
| Moon Right Ascension | 12h39m37.6s |
| Moon Declination | -03°13'11.4" |
| Moon Semi-Diameter | 15'58.2" |
| Moon Equatorial Horizontal Parallax | 0°58'36.8" |
| ΔT | 55.2 s |
Eclipse season
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.
| October 3 Descending node (new moon) | October 17 Ascending node (full moon) |
|---|---|
| Hybrid solar eclipse Solar Saros 124 | Total lunar eclipse Lunar Saros 136 |
Related eclipses
Eclipses in 1986
- A partial solar eclipse on April 9.
- A total lunar eclipse on April 24.
- A hybrid solar eclipse on October 3.
- A total lunar eclipse on October 17.
Metonic
- Preceded by: Solar eclipse of December 15, 1982
- Followed by: Solar eclipse of July 22, 1990
Tzolkinex
- Preceded by: Solar eclipse of August 22, 1979
- Followed by: Solar eclipse of November 13, 1993
Half-Saros
- Preceded by: Lunar eclipse of September 27, 1977
- Followed by: Lunar eclipse of October 8, 1995
Tritos
- Preceded by: Solar eclipse of November 3, 1975
- Followed by: Solar eclipse of September 2, 1997
Solar Saros 124
- Preceded by: Solar eclipse of September 22, 1968
- Followed by: Solar eclipse of October 14, 2004
Inex
- Preceded by: Solar eclipse of October 23, 1957
- Followed by: Solar eclipse of September 13, 2015
Triad
- Preceded by: Solar eclipse of December 3, 1899
- Followed by: Solar eclipse of August 3, 2073
References
- ^ "October 3, 1986 Total Solar Eclipse". timeanddate. Retrieved 9 August 2024.
- ^ "Moon Distances for London, United Kingdom, England". timeanddate. Retrieved 9 August 2024.
- ^ Schneider, Glenn. "03 October 1986: A Geometrically Remarkable Eclipse"
- ^ "Solar eclipse of October 3, 1986". www.almanak.hi.is. Retrieved 2026-03-05.
- ^ Florida Court Reinstates Lawsuit Alleging Eye Damage from Eclipse https://myeclipseglasses.com/litigation.html retrieved 2 Mar. 2023.
- ^ "Hybrid Solar Eclipse of 1986 Oct 03". EclipseWise.com. Retrieved 9 August 2024.