Solar eclipse of June 8, 1956

{{Infobox solar eclipse|1956Jun08

| previous = Solar eclipse of December 14, 1955

| next = Solar eclipse of December 2, 1956

}}

A total solar eclipse occurred at the Moon's descending node of orbit between Friday, June 8 and Saturday, June 9, 1956,{{cite web|title=June 8, 1956 Total Solar Eclipse|url=https://www.timeanddate.com/eclipse/solar/1956-june-8|publisher=timeanddate|access-date=6 August 2024}} with a magnitude of 1.0581. 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 1.3 days before perigee (on June 10, 1956, at 4:10 UTC), the Moon's apparent diameter was larger.{{cite web|title=Moon Distances for London, United Kingdom, England|url=https://www.timeanddate.com/astronomy/moon/distance.html?year=1956&n=136|publisher=timeanddate|access-date=6 August 2024}}

It began near sunrise over New Zealand on June 9 (Saturday), and ended west of South America on June 8 (Friday). A partial eclipse was visible for most of Oceania.

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=Total Solar Eclipse of 1956 Jun 08|url=https://eclipsewise.com/solar/SEprime/1901-2000/SE1956Jun08Tprime.html|publisher=EclipseWise.com|access-date=6 August 2024}}

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|+June 8, 1956 Solar Eclipse Times

! Event

! Time (UTC)

First Penumbral External Contact

| 1956 June 8 at 19:11:21.5 UTC

First Umbral External Contact

| 1956 June 8 at 20:31:34.6 UTC

First Central Line

| 1956 June 8 at 20:34:31.6 UTC

First Umbral Internal Contact

| 1956 June 8 at 20:37:38.2 UTC

Greatest Eclipse

| 1956 June 8 at 21:20:39.3 UTC

Greatest Duration

| 1956 June 8 at 21:20:59.3 UTC

Equatorial Conjunction

| 1956 June 8 at 21:21:17.5 UTC

Ecliptic Conjunction

| 1956 June 8 at 21:29:39.0 UTC

Last Umbral Internal Contact

| 1956 June 8 at 22:03:38.5 UTC

Last Central Line

| 1956 June 8 at 22:06:46.5 UTC

Last Umbral External Contact

| 1956 June 8 at 22:09:44.9 UTC

Last Penumbral External Contact

| 1956 June 8 at 23:29:54.1 UTC

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|+June 8, 1956 Solar Eclipse Parameters

! Parameter

! Value

Eclipse Magnitude

| 1.05810

Eclipse Obscuration

| 1.11958

Gamma

| −0.89341

Sun Right Ascension

| 05h07m54.5s

Sun Declination

| +22°54'13.6"

Sun Semi-Diameter

| 15'45.2"

Sun Equatorial Horizontal Parallax

| 08.7"

Moon Right Ascension

| 05h07m52.9s

Moon Declination

| +22°00'05.8"

Moon Semi-Diameter

| 16'32.9"

Moon Equatorial Horizontal Parallax

| 1°00'44.0"

ΔT

| 31.5 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 May–June 1956

! May 24
Ascending node (full moon)

June 8
Descending node (new moon)

200px

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| Partial lunar eclipse
Lunar Saros 120

Total solar eclipse
Solar Saros 146