A total solar eclipse occurred at the Moon's descending node of orbit on Thursday, June 20, 1974,[1] with a magnitude of 1.0592. A solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes between Earth and the Sun, thereby totally or partly obscuring the view 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 1.4 days before perigee (on June 21, 1974, at 14:50 UTC), the Moon's apparent diameter was larger.[2]
The path of totality passed over the Indian Ocean, Amsterdam Island, and Western Australia. A partial eclipse was visible for parts of Madagascar, Indonesia, Australia, and the southwestern coast of South Island, New Zealand.[3]
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.[4]
| First Penumbral External Contact | 1974 June 20 at 02:33:32.2 UTC | |
| First Umbral External Contact | 1974 June 20 at 03:47:06.1 UTC | |
| First Central Line | 1974 June 20 at 03:49:24.2 UTC | |
| First Umbral Internal Contact | 1974 June 20 at 03:51:46.3 UTC | |
| Greatest Duration | 1974 June 20 at 04:47:57.2 UTC | |
| Greatest Eclipse | 1974 June 20 at 04:48:04.4 UTC | |
| Equatorial Conjunction | 1974 June 20 at 04:55:25.3 UTC | |
| Ecliptic Conjunction | 1974 June 20 at 04:56:24.3 UTC | |
| Last Umbral Internal Contact | 1974 June 20 at 05:44:15.8 UTC | |
| Last Central Line | 1974 June 20 at 05:46:39.4 UTC | |
| Last Umbral External Contact | 1974 June 20 at 05:48:59.2 UTC | |
| Last Penumbral External Contact | 1974 June 20 at 07:02:30.3 UTC |
| Eclipse Magnitude | 1.05919 | |
| Eclipse Obscuration | 1.12189 | |
| Gamma | −0.82388 | |
| Sun Right Ascension | 05h53m26.3s | |
| Sun Declination | +23°26'00.3" | |
| Sun Semi-Diameter | 15'44.3" | |
| Sun Equatorial Horizontal Parallax | 08.7" | |
| Moon Right Ascension | 05h53m07.9s | |
| Moon Declination | +22°36'22.0" | |
| Moon Semi-Diameter | 16'30.9" | |
| Moon Equatorial Horizontal Parallax | 1°00'36.8" | |
| ΔT | 44.9 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.