Solar eclipse of January 26, 1990

{{Infobox solar eclipse|1990Jan26

| previous = Solar eclipse of August 31, 1989

| next = Solar eclipse of July 22, 1990

}}

An annular solar eclipse occurred at the Moon's ascending node of orbit on Friday, January 26, 1990,{{cite web|title=January 26, 1990 Annular Solar Eclipse|url=https://www.timeanddate.com/eclipse/solar/1990-january-26|publisher=timeanddate|access-date=9 August 2024}} with a magnitude of 0.967. 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 7.1 days after apogee (on January 19, 1990, at 16:00 UTC), the Moon's apparent diameter was smaller.{{cite web|title=Moon Distances for London, United Kingdom, England|url=https://www.timeanddate.com/astronomy/moon/distance.html?year=1990&n=136|publisher=timeanddate|access-date=9 August 2024}}

Annularity was visible from a part of Antarctica. A partial eclipse was visible for parts of Antarctica, southern and eastern South America, and New Zealand.

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=Annular Solar Eclipse of 1990 Jan 26|url=https://eclipsewise.com/solar/SEprime/1901-2000/SE1990Jan26Aprime.html|publisher=EclipseWise.com|access-date=9 August 2024}}

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|+January 26, 1990 Solar Eclipse Times

! Event

! Time (UTC)

First Penumbral External Contact

| 1990 January 26 at 17:14:16.9 UTC

First Umbral External Contact

| 1990 January 26 at 18:52:41.6 UTC

Equatorial Conjunction

| 1990 January 26 at 18:52:52.1 UTC

First Central Line

| 1990 January 26 at 18:56:20.7 UTC

Greatest Duration

| 1990 January 26 at 18:56:20.7 UTC

First Umbral Internal Contact

| 1990 January 26 at 19:00:22.0 UTC

Ecliptic Conjunction

| 1990 January 26 at 19:20:58.8 UTC

Greatest Eclipse

| 1990 January 26 at 19:31:23.9 UTC

Last Umbral Internal Contact

| 1990 January 26 at 20:02:53.7 UTC

Last Central Line

| 1990 January 26 at 20:06:51.8 UTC

Last Umbral External Contact

| 1990 January 26 at 20:10:27.5 UTC

Last Penumbral External Contact

| 1990 January 26 at 21:48:40.7 UTC

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|+January 26, 1990 Solar Eclipse Parameters

! Parameter

! Value

Eclipse Magnitude

| 0.96698

Eclipse Obscuration

| 0.93506

Gamma

| −0.94571

Sun Right Ascension

| 20h35m55.4s

Sun Declination

| -18°37'40.0"

Sun Semi-Diameter

| 16'14.5"

Sun Equatorial Horizontal Parallax

| 08.9"

Moon Right Ascension

| 20h37m14.5s

Moon Declination

| -19°28'27.1"

Moon Semi-Diameter

| 15'38.0"

Moon Equatorial Horizontal Parallax

| 0°57'22.4"

ΔT

| 56.9 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 January–February 1990

! January 26
Ascending node (new moon)
!! February 9
Descending node (full moon)

200px

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| Annular solar eclipse
Solar Saros 121

Total lunar eclipse
Lunar Saros 133