Solar eclipse of December 22, 1889

Solar eclipse of December 22, 1889
Map
Type of eclipse
Nature	Total
Gamma	0.1888
Magnitude	1.0449
Maximum eclipse
Duration	258 s (4 min 18 s)
Coordinates	12°42′S 12°48′W / 12.7°S 12.8°W / -12.7; -12.8
Max. width of band	152 km (94 mi)
Times (UTC)
Greatest eclipse	12:54:15
References
Saros	130 (45 of 73)
Catalog # (SE5000)	9257

A total solar eclipse occurred at the Moon's descending node of orbit on Sunday, December 22, 1889, with a magnitude of 1.0449. 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 only about 12.5 hours before perigee (on December 23, 1889, at 1:30 UTC), the Moon's apparent diameter was larger.^[1]

The path of totality was visible from parts of modern-day Trinidad and Tobago, northern French Guiana, Angola, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, Burundi, Tanzania, Kenya, and Somalia. A partial solar eclipse was also visible for parts of the eastern Caribbean, northern and central South America, and Africa.

The eclipse was the focus of a 242-day United States scientific expedition, roughly 70 miles south of Luanda.