Solar eclipse of December 2, 1956

{{Infobox solar eclipse|1956Dec02

| previous = Solar eclipse of June 8, 1956

| next = Solar eclipse of April 30, 1957

}}

A partial solar eclipse occurred at the Moon's ascending node of orbit on Sunday, December 2, 1956,{{cite web|title=December 2, 1956 Partial Solar Eclipse|url=https://www.timeanddate.com/eclipse/solar/1956-december-2|publisher=timeanddate|access-date=6 August 2024}} with a magnitude of 0.8047. 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 partial solar eclipse occurs in the polar regions of the Earth when the center of the Moon's shadow misses the Earth.

A partial eclipse was visible for parts of Europe, Northeast Africa, and Asia.

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.{{cite web|title=Partial Solar Eclipse of 1956 Dec 02|url=https://eclipsewise.com/solar/SEprime/1901-2000/SE1956Dec02Pprime.html|publisher=EclipseWise.com|access-date=6 August 2024}}

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|+December 2, 1956 Solar Eclipse Times

! Event

! Time (UTC)

First Penumbral External Contact

| 1956 December 02 at 05:52:09.3 UTC

Equatorial Conjunction

| 1956 December 02 at 07:54:38.5 UTC

Greatest Eclipse

| 1956 December 02 at 08:00:35.0 UTC

Ecliptic Conjunction

| 1956 December 02 at 08:13:02.5 UTC

Last Penumbral External Contact

| 1956 December 02 at 10:09:08.8 UTC

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|+December 2, 1956 Solar Eclipse Parameters

! Parameter

! Value

Eclipse Magnitude

| 0.80468

Eclipse Obscuration

| 0.73350

Gamma

| 1.09229

Sun Right Ascension

| 16h34m00.8s

Sun Declination

| -21°58'22.1"

Sun Semi-Diameter

| 16'13.5"

Sun Equatorial Horizontal Parallax

| 08.9"

Moon Right Ascension

| 16h34m13.1s

Moon Declination

| -20°57'44.2"

Moon Semi-Diameter

| 15'10.9"

Moon Equatorial Horizontal Parallax

| 0°55'43.2"

ΔT

| 31.7 s

Eclipse season

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.

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|+ Eclipse season of November–December 1956

! November 18
Descending node (full moon)

December 2
Ascending node (new moon)

200px

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| Total lunar eclipse
Lunar Saros 125

Partial solar eclipse
Solar Saros 151