Solar eclipse of December 14, 2020
| Solar eclipse of December 14, 2020 | |
|---|---|
 Totality as viewed from Gorbea, Chile | |
 Map | |
| Type of eclipse | |
| Nature | Total |
| Gamma | -0.2939 |
| Magnitude | 1.0254 |
| Maximum eclipse | |
| Duration | 130 sec (2 m 10 s) |
| Coordinates | 40°18′S 67°54′W / 40.3°S 67.9°W |
| Max. width of band | 90 km (56 mi) |
| Times (UTC) | |
| Greatest eclipse | 16:14:39 |
| References | |
| Saros | 142 (23 of 72) |
| Catalog # (SE5000) | 9554 |
A total solar eclipse took place on Monday, December 14, 2020, when the Moon passed between Earth and the Sun, thereby totally or partly obscuring the image of the Sun for a viewer on Earth. Totality occurred in a narrow path across Earth's surface across parts of the South Pacific Ocean, southern South America, and the South Atlantic Ocean, when the Moon's apparent diameter was larger than the Sun's so all direct sunlight was blocked. The partial solar eclipse was visible over a surrounding region thousands of kilometres wide, including parts of the Pacific Ocean, South America, southwestern Africa, and the Atlantic Ocean. The Moon's apparent diameter was larger than average because the eclipse occurred only 1.8 days after perigee (on December 12, 2020).
Visibility[]
Chile[]
Totality made landfall in Puerto Saavedra, before traversing through portions of Araucanía Region, Los Ríos Region, and a very small part of Bío Bío Region.[1] Cities in the path included Temuco, Villarrica, and Pucón. Totality was also visible on Mocha Island. The eclipse's path was similar to the solar eclipse of February 26, 2017. It occurred just 17 months after the solar eclipse of July 2, 2019 and, like the 2019 eclipse, was also visible from Chile and Argentina. It was also a partial solar eclipse in Bolivia, Brazil, Ecuador, Paraguay, Peru and Uruguay.
Argentina[]
Totality was visible across the Northern Patagonia (specifically the provinces of Neuquén and Río Negro), passing through cities including Piedra del Águila, Sierra Colorada, Ministro Ramos Mexía, Junín de los Andes, and partially in San Martín de los Andes and San Carlos de Bariloche.
Scientific observations[]
The ionospheric effects of the eclipse were expected to be monitored as part of the December 2020 Eclipse Festival of Frequency Measurement, a citizen science experiment organized through the Amateur Radio Science Citizen Investigation (HamSCI).[2] Also, a prediction was made for a group of ionospheric stations in South America, using a numerical model (), of the ionospheric response to this event.[3]
Gallery[]
Partial from Rengo, Chile, 15:07 UTC
Partial from Santiago de Chile, 16:02 UTC
Partial from Puerto Varas, Chile, 16:09 UTC
Totality from Ministro Ramos Mexía, Argentina, 16:14 UTC
Partial from Manuel B. Gonnet, Argentina, 16:32 UTC
Partial from Guarulhos, Brazil, 17:01 UTC
Partial from Taubaté, Brazil, 17:13 UTC
Totality from Valcheta, Argentina
Related eclipses[]
This eclipse took place one lunar year after the Solar eclipse of December 26, 2019.
Eclipses of 2020[]
- A penumbral lunar eclipse on January 10.
- A penumbral lunar eclipse on June 5.
- An annular solar eclipse on June 21.
- A penumbral lunar eclipse on July 5.
- A penumbral lunar eclipse on November 30.
- A total solar eclipse on December 14.
Tzolkinex[]
- Preceded: Solar eclipse of November 3, 2013
- Followed: Solar eclipse of January 26, 2028
Half-Saros cycle[]
- Preceded: Lunar eclipse of December 10, 2011
- Followed: Lunar eclipse of December 20, 2029
Tritos[]
- Preceded: Solar eclipse of January 15, 2010
- Followed: Solar eclipse of November 14, 2031
Solar Saros 142[]
- Preceded: Solar eclipse of December 4, 2002
- Followed: Solar eclipse of December 26, 2038
Inex[]
- Preceded: Solar eclipse of January 4, 1992
- Followed: Solar eclipse of November 25, 2049
Triad[]
- Preceded: Solar eclipse of February 14, 1934
- Followed: Solar eclipse of October 16, 2107
Solar eclipses of 2018–2021[]
This eclipse is a member of a semester series. An eclipse in a semester series of solar eclipses repeats approximately every 177 days and 4 hours (a semester) at alternating nodes of the Moon's orbit.[4]
Note: Partial solar eclipses on February 15, 2018, and August 11, 2018, occurred during the previous semester series.
| Solar eclipse series sets from 2018–2021 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ascending node | Descending node | |||||
| Saros | Map | Gamma | Saros | Map | Gamma | |
117 Partial from Melbourne, Australia |
2018 July 13 Partial |
-1.35423 | 122 Partial from Nakhodka, Russia |
2019 January 6 Partial |
1.14174 | |
127 La Serena, Chile |
2019 July 2 Total |
-0.64656 | 132 Jaffna, Sri Lanka |
2019 December 26 Annular |
0.41351 | |
137 Beigang, Yunlin, Taiwan |
2020 June 21 Annular |
0.12090 | 142 Gorbea, Chile |
2020 December 14 Total |
-0.29394 | |
147 Huittinen, Finland |
2021 June 10 Annular |
0.91516 | 152 Totality from 76°46.6’S, 046°13.9’W |
2021 December 4 Total |
-0.95261 | |
Saros 142[]
It is a part of Saros cycle 142, repeating every 18 years, 11 days, containing 72 events. The series started with partial solar eclipse on April 17, 1624. It contains one hybrid eclipse on July 14, 1768, and total eclipses from July 25, 1786 through October 29, 2543. The series ends at member 72 as a partial eclipse on June 5, 2904. The longest duration of totality will be 6 minutes, 34 seconds on May 28, 2291. All eclipses in this series occurs at the Moon’s descending node.[5]
| Series members 17–41 occur between 1901 and 2359 | ||
|---|---|---|
| 17 | 18 | 19 |
 October 10, 1912 |
 October 21, 1930 |
 November 1, 1948 |
| 20 | 21 | 22 |
 November 12, 1966 |
 November 22, 1984 |
 December 4, 2002 |
| 23 | 24 | 25 |
December 14, 2020 |
 December 26, 2038 |
 January 5, 2057 |
| 26 | 27 | 28 |
 January 16, 2075 |
 January 27, 2093 |
 February 8, 2111 |
| 29 | 30 | 31 |
 February 18, 2129 |
 March 2, 2147 |
 March 12, 2165 |
| 32 | 33 | 34 |
 March 23, 2183 |
 April 4, 2201 |
 April 15, 2219 |
| 35 | 36 | 37 |
 April 25, 2237 |
 May 7, 2255 |
 May 17, 2273 |
| 38 | 39 | 40 |
 May 28, 2291 |
 June 9, 2309 |
 June 20, 2327 |
| 41 | ||
 June 30, 2345 | ||
Metonic cycle[]
The metonic series repeats eclipses every 19 years (6939.69 days), lasting about 5 cycles. Eclipses occur in nearly the same calendar date. In addition, the octon subseries repeats 1/5 of that or every 3.8 years (1387.94 days). All eclipses in this table occur at the Moon's descending node.
| 21 events between July 22, 1971 and July 22, 2047 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| July 21–22 | May 9–11 | February 26–27 | December 14–15 | October 2–3 |
| 116 | 118 | 120 | 122 | 124 |
 July 22, 1971 |
 May 11, 1975 |
 February 26, 1979 |
 December 15, 1982 |
 October 3, 1986 |
| 126 | 128 | 130 | 132 | 134 |
 July 22, 1990 |
 May 10, 1994 |
 February 26, 1998 |
 December 14, 2001 |
 October 3, 2005 |
| 136 | 138 | 140 | 142 | 144 |
 July 22, 2009 |
 May 10, 2013 |
 February 26, 2017 |
December 14, 2020 |
 October 2, 2024 |
| 146 | 148 | 150 | 152 | 154 |
 July 22, 2028 |
 May 9, 2032 |
 February 27, 2036 |
 December 15, 2039 |
 October 3, 2043 |
| 156 | ||||
 July 22, 2047 | ||||
References[]
- ^ Garcia, Richard (30 December 2018). "Chile será protagonista de tres eclipses totales de Sol consecutivos por primera vez". EyN (in Spanish).
- ^ "December 2020 Eclipse Festival of Frequency Measurement". HamSCI.
- ^ Martínez‐Ledesma, M.; Bravo, M.; Urra, B.; Souza, J.; Foppiano, A. (2020). "Prediction of the Ionospheric Response to the 14 December 2020 Total Solar Eclipse Using SUPIM-INPE". Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics. 125 (11): e2020JA028625. Bibcode:2020JGRA..12528625M. doi:10.1029/2020JA028625. S2CID 228824043.
- ^ van Gent, R.H. "Solar- and Lunar-Eclipse Predictions from Antiquity to the Present". A Catalogue of Eclipse Cycles. Utrecht University. Retrieved 6 October 2018.
- ^ http://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/SEsaros/SEsaros142.html
External links[]
 |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Solar eclipse of 2020 December 14. |
- solar-eclipse.de: The total solar eclipse of 12/14/2020
- Earth visibility chart and eclipse statistics Eclipse Predictions by Fred Espenak, NASA/GSFC
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| Related topics |
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- Total solar eclipses
- 2020 in science
- 2020 in South America
- 21st-century solar eclipses
- December 2020 events