Solar eclipse of September 23, 1987

Solar eclipse of September 23, 1987
Map
Type of eclipse
Nature	Annular
Gamma	0.2787
Magnitude	0.9634
Maximum eclipse
Duration	229 s (3 min 49 s)
Coordinates	14°18′N 138°24′E / 14.3°N 138.4°E / 14.3; 138.4
Max. width of band	137 km (85 mi)
Times (UTC)
Greatest eclipse	3:12:22
References
Saros	134 (42 of 71)
Catalog # (SE5000)	9481

An annular solar eclipse occurred at the Moon's descending node of orbit on Wednesday, September 23, 1987,^[1] with a magnitude of 0.9634. 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. An annular solar eclipse occurs when the Moon's apparent diameter is smaller than the Sun's, blocking most of the Sun's light and causing the Sun to look like an annulus (ring). An annular eclipse appears as a partial eclipse over a region of the Earth thousands of kilometres wide. Occurring only 5 days after apogee (on September 18, 1987, at 4:00 UTC), the Moon's apparent diameter was smaller.^[2]

Annularity was visible in the Soviet Union (today's Kazakhstan), China (including Shanghai), southwestern Mongolia, Okinawa Islands of Japan except Kume Island and the southwestern tip of Kerama Islands, the Federal States of Micronesia, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Rotuma Islands of Fiji, Wallis Islands and West Samoa (the name changed to Samoa later). A partial eclipse was visible for parts of South Asia, Southeast Asia, East Asia, Australia, Oceania, and Hawaii.