A total solar eclipse occurred at the Moon's descending node of orbit on Wednesday, November 30, 1853, with a magnitude of 1.0485. 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. Occurring about 8.5 hours before perigee (on December 1, 1853, at 3:45 UTC), the Moon's apparent diameter was larger.[1]
The path of totality was visible from parts of modern-day Peru, Bolivia, and Brazil. A partial solar eclipse was also visible for parts of northern Oceania, Hawaii, southern North America, Central America, the Caribbean, and South America.
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.[2]
| First Penumbral External Contact | 1853 November 30 at 16:38:15.3 UTC | |
| First Umbral External Contact | 1853 November 30 at 17:33:27.1 UTC | |
| First Central Line | 1853 November 30 at 17:34:17.3 UTC | |
| First Umbral Internal Contact | 1853 November 30 at 17:35:07.5 UTC | |
| First Penumbral Internal Contact | 1853 November 30 at 18:31:47.1 UTC | |
| Equatorial Conjunction | 1853 November 30 at 19:10:53.1 UTC | |
| Ecliptic Conjunction | 1853 November 30 at 19:13:50.5 UTC | |
| Greatest Eclipse | 1853 November 30 at 19:15:38.7 UTC | |
| Greatest Duration | 1853 November 30 at 19:20:35.5 UTC | |
| Last Penumbral Internal Contact | 1853 November 30 at 19:59:37.3 UTC | |
| Last Umbral Internal Contact | 1853 November 30 at 20:56:12.6 UTC | |
| Last Central Line | 1853 November 30 at 20:57:03.2 UTC | |
| Last Umbral External Contact | 1853 November 30 at 20:57:53.8 UTC | |
| Last Penumbral External Contact | 1853 November 30 at 21:53:03.3 UTC |
| Eclipse Magnitude | 1.04851 | |
| Eclipse Obscuration | 1.09938 | |
| Gamma | 0.17631 | |
| Sun Right Ascension | 16h27m18.6s | |
| Sun Declination | -21°44'59.0" | |
| Sun Semi-Diameter | 16'13.6" | |
| Sun Equatorial Horizontal Parallax | 08.9" | |
| Moon Right Ascension | 16h27m30.3s | |
| Moon Declination | -21°34'32.2" | |
| Moon Semi-Diameter | 16'43.7" | |
| Moon Equatorial Horizontal Parallax | 1°01'23.6" | |
| ΔT | 7.1 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.
The partial solar eclipse on January 21, 1852 occurs in the previous lunar year eclipse set.
| Solar eclipse series sets from 1852 to 1855 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ascending node | Descending node | |||||
| Saros | Map | Gamma | Saros | Map | Gamma | |
| 115 | June 17, 1852 Partial | −1.1111 | 120 | December 11, 1852 Total | 0.8551 | |
| 125 | June 6, 1853 Annular | −0.3686 | 130 | November 30, 1853 Total | 0.1763 | |
| 135 | May 26, 1854 Annular | 0.3918 | 140 | November 20, 1854 Hybrid | −0.5179 | |
| 145 | May 16, 1855 Partial | 1.1249 | 150 | November 9, 1855 Partial | −1.2767 | |
All eclipses in this table occur at the Moon's ascending node.
