Total solar eclipse of 17 December 2066
A total solar eclipse crosses the Earth on 17 December 2066. Along a track 139 km wide the Moon blocks the Sun completely, and totality lasts up to 3 min 15 s. The central line runs across Australia.
The numbers
- Type
- Total solar eclipse
- Date
- 17 December 2066
- Greatest eclipse
- 00:21:30 UTC
- Eclipse magnitude
- 1.042
- Gamma
- 0.4041
- Central duration
- 3 min 15 s
- Path width
- 139 km at greatest eclipse
- Greatest eclipse at
- 47.4°S 175.8°E
See it in 3D
The simulator places the Sun, Earth and Moon at their true relative positions for this date and draws the shadow cones at real scale. You can scrub through the eclipse, drop an observer anywhere, and watch the umbra sweep the surface.
Loads about 300 KB on demand — nothing is downloaded until you press it.
Local circumstances
All times are UTC. Contact times are computed for each city from the Besselian elements against the WGS84 ellipsoid, at sea level and without refraction.
| Place | C1 | C2 | Max | C3 | C4 | Central | Obscured | Sun alt. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AdamstownPitcairn Islands | 00:49:42 | — | 01:51:50 | — | 02:47:40 | — | 95.4% | 19° |
| PerthAustralia | 21:55:13 | — | 22:51:50 | — | 23:54:20 | — | 94.9% | 20° |
| HobartAustralia | 22:19:39 | — | 23:30:50 | — | 00:48:48 | — | 94.0% | 53° |
| ChristchurchNew Zealand | 22:55:24 | — | 00:16:30 | — | 01:37:36 | — | 87.9% | 70° |
| WellingtonNew Zealand | 22:59:11 | — | 00:21:30 | — | 01:42:47 | — | 79.6% | 72° |
| GeelongAustralia | 22:11:47 | — | 23:21:30 | — | 00:38:37 | — | 79.3% | 50° |
C1 and C4 are first and last contact, when the Moon's disc touches the Sun's. C2 and C3 bracket the central phase. 69 of the 2,250 cities in the database see at least a 3% partial eclipse.
How these figures were produced
Positions come from astronomy-engine, a VSOP87/ELP implementation. From the geocentric Sun and Moon vectors the site computes Besselian elements — x, y, d, μ, l1, l2, tan f1 and tan f2 — and solves the observer's position on the fundamental plane against the WGS84 ellipsoid. Central durations agree with NASA's Five Millennium Canon to within about half a second. Full method and validation.