A total solar eclipse will occur at the Moon's descending node of orbit on Thursday, August 2, 2046,[1] with a magnitude of 1.0531. 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 greater than the Sun's, blocking all direct sunlight. Totality occurs in a narrow path across Earth's surface, with the partial solar eclipse visible over a surrounding region thousands of kilometres wide. Occurring about 2 days before perigee (on August 4, 2046, at 10:20 UTC), the Moon's apparent diameter will be larger.[2]
The path of totality will be visible from parts of eastern Brazil, Angola, the panhandle of Namibia, Botswana, South Africa, Eswatini, extreme southern Mozambique, and the Kerguelen Islands. A partial solar eclipse will also be visible for parts of eastern South America, Africa, and East Antarctica.
Animated path
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.[3]
| First Penumbral External Contact | 2046 August 02 at 07:49:48.4 UTC | |
| First Umbral External Contact | 2046 August 02 at 08:51:12.0 UTC | |
| First Central Line | 2046 August 02 at 08:52:25.1 UTC | |
| First Umbral Internal Contact | 2046 August 02 at 08:53:38.5 UTC | |
| Greatest Duration | 2046 August 02 at 10:17:25.2 UTC | |
| Greatest Eclipse | 2046 August 02 at 10:21:13.4 UTC | |
| Ecliptic Conjunction | 2046 August 02 at 10:26:44.5 UTC | |
| Equatorial Conjunction | 2046 August 02 at 10:43:07.1 UTC | |
| Last Umbral Internal Contact | 2046 August 02 at 11:48:31.9 UTC | |
| Last Central Line | 2046 August 02 at 11:49:47.3 UTC | |
| Last Umbral External Contact | 2046 August 02 at 11:51:02.5 UTC | |
| Last Penumbral External Contact | 2046 August 02 at 12:52:25.2 UTC |
| Eclipse Magnitude | 1.05315 | |
| Eclipse Obscuration | 1.10912 | |
| Gamma | −0.53496 | |
| Sun Right Ascension | 08h51m04.7s | |
| Sun Declination | +17°39'03.1" | |
| Sun Semi-Diameter | 15'45.5" | |
| Sun Equatorial Horizontal Parallax | 08.7" | |
| Moon Right Ascension | 08h50m16.1s | |
| Moon Declination | +17°09'10.7" | |
| Moon Semi-Diameter | 16'21.8" | |
| Moon Equatorial Horizontal Parallax | 1°00'03.4" | |
| ΔT | 82.1 s |
See also: Eclipse cycle. 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.