Solar eclipse of October 24, 1995
PreviousSolar eclipse of April 29, 1995
NextSolar eclipse of April 17, 1996

A total solar eclipse occurred at the Moon's ascending node of orbit on Tuesday, October 24, 1995,[1] with a magnitude of 1.0213. 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 2.7 days before perigee (on October 26, 1995, at 21:00 UTC), the Moon's apparent diameter was larger.[2]

The path of totality went through Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, southwestern tip of Bangladesh, Burma, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, Spratly Islands, northeastern tip of Sabah of Malaysia, Philippines and Indonesia. A partial eclipse was visible for parts of Northeast Africa, Asia, Australia, and northern Oceania.

Observation

India

An aerial observation of this eclipse was done over India,[3] when a MiG-25 reconnaissance aircraft of the Indian Air Force was used to take images of this eclipse at an altitude of 25 km.[4]

The Indian Institute of Astrophysics established camps along the path of totality in Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Iradatganj and Diamond Harbour near Kolkata. Astronomers from other institutions and abroad from the Slovakia, Brazil, Russia, Japan and Germany joined IIA at its camps. An IIA team also photographed the eclipse by chasing the Moon’s shadow in an Indian Air Force plane AN-32 from the crew escape hatch on the roof of the cockpit at an altitude of 10,000 feet (3,000 m) above the sea level, which was the first time efforts made by the institute. Doordarshan and All India Radio made live coverages of the eclipse. The eclipse happened to occur on the day of the Diwali.[5]

China

Within the Spratly Islands claimed by China, only Cuarteron Reef was controlled by China and lay in the path of totality. Instead of going to the faraway island, The Popular Science Committee of the Chinese Astronomical Society, Beijing Astronomical Society, Beijing Planetarium and Beijing Astronomical Observatory (now incorporated into the National Astronomical Observatories of China) jointly organized observations abroad for the first time. A team of 4 was sent to Sikhio district, Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand by the Beijing Planetarium, and successfully photographed the whole process of the eclipse, the corona at the greatest eclipse, and the Baily's beads at the 2nd and 3rd contact.[6]

In addition, the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Ministry of Electronics Industry, China Earthquake Administration, State Education Commission (now Ministry of Education) and departments in charge of water conservancy and meteorology conducted joint observations on changes of solar radiation, ionosphere, geomagnetic field, radio and acoustic heavy waves, mainly in the Paracel Islands, Sanya, Haikou and Zhengzhou. From all these places, only a partial solar eclipse was visible instead of a total solar eclipse.[7]

Eclipse timing

Places experiencing total eclipse

Solar Eclipse of October 24, 1995
(Local Times)
Country or territoryCity or placeStart of partial eclipseStart of total eclipseMaximum eclipseEnd of total eclipseEnd of partial eclipseDuration of totality (min:s)Duration of eclipse (hr:min)Maximum magnitude
Birjand05:43:41 (sunrise)06:23:2306:23:2706:23:3207:30:240:091:471.0006
Lashkargah06:22:3607:24:5307:25:0907:25:2408:35:000:312:131.0033
Bahawalpur06:53:0607:59:1107:59:1607:59:2009:13:500:092:211.0005
Sikar07:23:5408:31:4008:32:0408:32:2909:49:140:492:251.0055
Alwar07:24:2608:33:1108:33:2808:33:4509:51:420:342:271.0018
Mathura07:24:4508:34:0508:34:1608:34:2809:53:080:232:281.001
Bharatpur07:24:4708:34:0308:34:2208:34:4009:53:180:372:291.002
Dholpur07:24:5408:34:3808:34:4708:34:5809:54:090:201.0008
Auraiya07:25:4208:36:2808:36:3408:36:4009:57:060:122:311.0005
Manjhanpur07:26:4208:38:2308:38:5208:39:2210:01:010:592:341.0049
Prayagraj07:26:5908:39:0708:39:2708:39:4810:01:580:412:351.002
Mirzapur07:27:2708:40:1008:40:2708:40:4310:03:330:332:361.0013
Robertsganj07:27:4708:40:3908:41:1108:41:4410:04:491:052:371.0068
Medininagar07:28:3108:42:2408:42:4108:42:5810:07:160:342:391.0013
Purulia07:30:2308:45:5008:46:1808:46:4510:12:490:552:421.003
Panskura07:31:3808:48:0608:48:4008:49:1510:16:291:092:451.0047
Tamluk07:31:5008:48:2808:49:0308:49:3710:17:031.0046
Batanagar07:32:0408:49:0508:49:2508:49:4610:17:330:411.0015
Nakhon Sawan09:19:2810:47:0410:47:5810:48:5212:26:031:483:071.0083
Nakhon Ratchasima09:23:1210:53:1310:53:3010:53:4712:32:350:343:091.0007
Siem Reap09:27:3410:58:5910:59:4711:00:3612:39:501:373:121.0047
Kratié09:32:2511:05:3711:06:3311:07:2912:47:101:523:151.0066
Phan Thiết09:38:1111:13:2411:14:1711:15:1112:55:131:473:171.0053
References: [1]

Places experiencing partial eclipse

Solar Eclipse of October 24, 1995
(Local Times)
Country or territoryCity or placeStart of partial eclipseMaximum eclipseEnd of partial eclipseDuration of eclipse (hr:min)Maximum coverage
Dubai06:21:29 (sunrise)06:50:1707:53:271:3267.51%
Tehran06:18:10 (sunrise)06:23:0507:26:091:0897.01%
Ashgabat07:23:03 (sunrise)07:55:4409:01:081:3882.90%
Kuwait City05:54:55 (sunrise)05:57:2706:50:510:5672.37%
Kabul06:24:5307:28:5708:40:202:1584.50%
Islamabad06:55:3308:01:2409:15:012:1982.86%
Lahore06:54:4808:01:5009:17:092:2289.02%
Tashkent07:01:3108:02:3709:09:362:0860.87%
Baku07:00:29 (sunrise)07:03:2407:57:190:5775.08%
New Delhi07:24:5608:34:0609:52:222:2795.91%
Kathmandu07:44:5308:58:4210:22:122:3787.08%
Thimphu08:03:5209:20:0310:45:542:4280.95%
Dhaka08:04:0509:22:3110:51:252:4792.62%
Yangon08:43:0310:07:5911:43:353:0197.42%
Bangkok09:21:3610:50:5612:29:413:0895.58%
Vientiane09:22:2110:51:3712:29:243:0789.55%
Hanoi09:27:5210:56:4012:32:133:0473.36%
Phnom Penh09:31:1411:04:4712:45:223:1497.14%
Ho Chi Minh City09:35:3011:10:3712:51:313:1697.94%
Singapore10:46:0012:16:0713:51:323:0659.64%
Bandar Seri Begawan11:01:4612:42:2914:20:563:1992.65%
Kota Kinabalu11:03:0512:44:1814:22:3098.21%
Manila11:09:2112:47:0714:19:523:1169.29%
General Santos11:29:1213:10:2314:41:243:1293.45%
Ngerulmud12:57:4314:32:3015:53:592:5681.79%
Manokwari13:04:4914:39:0315:59:562:5590.03%
Palikir15:53:1017:06:2418:09:20 (sunset)2:1686.85%
Majuro17:07:2018:11:3418:16:20 (sunset)1:0994.80%
Tarawa17:12:0018:12:1918:14:31 (sunset)1:0382.75%
Yaren17:08:3318:14:0318:40:26 (sunset)1:3280.43%
References: [1]

Phil Whitaker's prize-winning debut novel Eclipse of the Sun published in 1997 and set in India has at its centre a dramatic attempt to organize a public viewing of the eclipse.

Meet Me at the Eclipse (Vietnamese: Hẹn em ngày nhật thực) is a 2026 high-grossing Vietnamese film unfolding around the eclipse.[8][9]

Eclipse details

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.[10]

October 24, 1995 Solar Eclipse Times
EventTime (UTC)
First Penumbral External Contact1995 October 24 at 01:52:54.3 UTC
First Umbral External Contact1995 October 24 at 02:53:31.6 UTC
First Central Line1995 October 24 at 02:53:39.8 UTC
First Umbral Internal Contact1995 October 24 at 02:53:47.9 UTC
First Penumbral Internal Contact1995 October 24 at 04:03:07.3 UTC
Equatorial Conjunction1995 October 24 at 04:23:32.2 UTC
Greatest Eclipse1995 October 24 at 04:33:30.5 UTC
Ecliptic Conjunction1995 October 24 at 04:37:13.7 UTC
Greatest Duration1995 October 24 at 04:37:39.5 UTC
Last Penumbral Internal Contact1995 October 24 at 05:04:10.7 UTC
Last Umbral Internal Contact1995 October 24 at 06:13:17.4 UTC
Last Central Line1995 October 24 at 06:13:27.9 UTC
Last Umbral External Contact1995 October 24 at 06:13:38.5 UTC
Last Penumbral External Contact1995 October 24 at 07:14:06.3 UTC
October 24, 1995 Solar Eclipse Parameters
ParameterValue
Eclipse Magnitude1.02135
Eclipse Obscuration1.04315
Gamma0.35176
Sun Right Ascension13h52m45.4s
Sun Declination-11°34'24.4"
Sun Semi-Diameter16'04.7"
Sun Equatorial Horizontal Parallax08.8"
Moon Right Ascension13h53m07.2s
Moon Declination-11°14'17.0"
Moon Semi-Diameter16'10.1"
Moon Equatorial Horizontal Parallax0°59'20.4"
ΔT61.4 s

Eclipse season

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.

Eclipse season of October 1995
October 8
Descending node (full moon)
October 24
Ascending node (new moon)
Penumbral lunar eclipse
Lunar Saros 117		Total solar eclipse
Solar Saros 143

Eclipses in 1995

Metonic

Tzolkinex

Half-Saros

Tritos

Solar Saros 143

Inex

Triad

Notes

  1. ^ "October 24, 1995 Total Solar Eclipse". timeanddate. Retrieved 10 August 2024.
  2. ^ "Moon Distances for London, United Kingdom, England". timeanddate. Retrieved 10 August 2024.
  3. ^ The MIGnificient Flying Machines - MiG-25R Archived 2019-05-05 at the Wayback Machine Bharat Rakshak.com 22 August 2017
  4. ^ Bhatnagar, A & Livingston, William Charles (2005). Fundamentals of Solar Astronomy. World Scientific. p. 157. ISBN 9812382445.
  5. ^ R. C. Kapoor. "SOME TOTAL SOLAR ECLIPSES OBSERVED FROM INDIA". Indian Institute of Astrophysics. Archived 28 November 2012 at the Wayback Machine.
  6. ^ "1995年10月24日泰国日全食". 21 July 2008. Archived 19 May 2020 at the Wayback Machine.
  7. ^ 1995年10月24日日全食观测. 河南省郑州集邮公司.
  8. ^ Cecil (March 20, 2026). "Vẻ đẹp hoài niệm của thập niên 90 trong Hẹn Em Ngày Nhật Thực" [The nostalgic beauty of the 1990s in Meet Me at the Eclipse]. Harper's Bazaar Vietnam
  9. ^ Naman Ramachandran (April 14, 2026). "Vietnamese Romance ‘Meet Me at the Eclipse’ Sets North American Theatrical Release After Record Home Box Office". Variety
  10. ^ "Total Solar Eclipse of 1995 Oct 24". EclipseWise.com. Retrieved 10 August 2024.

References

Photos: