View source for Solar eclipse of October 3, 1986

{{Short description|Hybrid eclipse}}
{{Infobox solar eclipse|1986Oct03
| previous         = Solar eclipse of April 9, 1986
| next             = Solar eclipse of March 29, 1987
}}

A total [[solar eclipse]] occurred at the Moon's [[Lunar node|descending node]] of orbit on Friday, October 3, 1986,<ref>{{cite web|title=October 3, 1986 Total Solar Eclipse|url=https://www.timeanddate.com/eclipse/solar/1986-october-3|publisher=timeanddate|access-date=9 August 2024}}</ref> with a [[Magnitude of eclipse|magnitude]] of 1. It was a hybrid event, with only a fraction of its path as total, and longer sections at the start and end as an annular eclipse. 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. The Moon's apparent diameter was near the average diameter because it occurred 8.3 days after [[Apsis|apogee]] (on September 25, 1986, at 11:00 UTC) and 3.7 days before [[Apsis|perigee]] (on October 7, 1986, at 10:50 UTC).<ref>{{cite web|title=Moon Distances for London, United Kingdom, England|url=https://www.timeanddate.com/astronomy/moon/distance.html?year=1986&n=136|publisher=timeanddate|access-date=9 August 2024}}</ref>

Totality occurred for a very short time (calculated at 0.08 seconds) in an area in the [[Atlantic Ocean]], just east of the southern tip of [[Greenland]]. The path, on the surface of the Earth, was a narrow, tapered, horse-shoe, and visible only from a thin strip between [[Iceland]] and Greenland. A partial eclipse was visible for parts of [[North America]], [[Central America]], the [[Caribbean]], northern [[South America]], and [[Iceland]]. This eclipse was the last central eclipse of [[Solar Saros 124]] and the only hybrid eclipse of that cycle.

== Observations ==
The only witnesses of a few seconds of brief totality were the "Gang of Nine" [[Eclipse chasing|eclipse chasers]] aboard a plane at an altitude of 40,000 feet.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Schneider |first=Glenn |title=03 October 1986: A Geometrically Remarkable Eclipse |url=http://nicmosis.as.arizona.edu:8000/ECLIPSE_WEB/ECLIPSE_86/ECLIPSE_86.html}}</ref>

The eclipse also resulted in litigation involving a Florida fourth grader whose eyes were allegedly damaged when he viewed the partial eclipse on school grounds.  A lower court had dismissed the case on the grounds that the school had no duty to supervise the child after school hours.  But the Florida Court of Appeals ruled in 1994 that the jury instruction on that question was improper, and remanded the case.<ref>Florida Court Reinstates Lawsuit Alleging Eye Damage from Eclipse https://myeclipseglasses.com/litigation.html retrieved 2 Mar. 2023.</ref>

== 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.<ref>{{cite web|title=Hybrid Solar Eclipse of 1986 Oct 03|url=https://eclipsewise.com/solar/SEprime/1901-2000/SE1986Oct03Hprime.html|publisher=EclipseWise.com|access-date=9 August 2024}}</ref>

{| class="wikitable" align="{{{align|left}}}" style="margin:{{#ifeq:{{{align}}}|left|0 0 0.5em 1em|0 1em 0.5em 0}}"
|+October 3, 1986 Solar Eclipse Times
! Event
! Time (UTC)
|-
| First Penumbral External Contact
| 1986 October 3 at 16:58:20.8 UTC
|-
| Equatorial Conjunction
| 1986 October 3 at 18:07:22.2 UTC
|-
| Ecliptic Conjunction
| 1986 October 3 at 18:55:40.6 UTC
|-
| First Umbral External Contact
| 1986 October 3 at 18:55:55.1 UTC
|-
| First Central Line
| 1986 October 3 at 18:56:25.6 UTC
|-
| Greatest Duration
| 1986 October 3 at 18:56:25.6 UTC
|-
| First Umbral Internal Contact
| 1986 October 3 at 18:56:57.6 UTC
|-
| Greatest Eclipse
| 1986 October 3 at 19:06:15.0 UTC
|-
| Last Umbral Internal Contact
| 1986 October 3 at 19:16:11.3 UTC
|-
| Last Central Line
| 1986 October 3 at 19:16:40.7 UTC
|-
| Last Umbral External Contact
| 1986 October 3 at 19:17:08.5 UTC
|-
| Last Penumbral External Contact
| 1986 October 3 at 21:14:27.6 UTC
|}

{|class="wikitable" align="{{{align|right}}}" style="margin:{{#ifeq:{{{align}}}|right|0 0 0.5em 1em|0 1em 0.5em 0}}"
|+October 3, 1986 Solar Eclipse Parameters
! Parameter
! Value
|-
| Eclipse Magnitude
| 1.00002
|-
| Eclipse Obscuration
| 1.00004
|-
| Gamma
| 0.99305
|-
| Sun Right Ascension
| 12h37m45.8s
|-
| Sun Declination
| -04°04'06.7"
|-
| Sun Semi-Diameter
| 15'59.2"
|-
| Sun Equatorial Horizontal Parallax
| 08.8"
|-
| Moon Right Ascension
| 12h39m37.6s
|-
| Moon Declination
| -03°13'11.4"
|-
| Moon Semi-Diameter
| 15'58.2"
|-
| Moon Equatorial Horizontal Parallax
| 0°58'36.8"
|-
| ΔT
| 55.2 s
|}
{{clear}}

== Eclipse season ==
{{See also|Eclipse cycle}}
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]].

{| class="wikitable"
|+ Eclipse season of October 1986
! October 3<br/>Descending node (new moon)<br/> !! [[October 1986 lunar eclipse|October 17]]<br/>Ascending node (full moon)<br/>
|-
| [[File:SE1986Oct03H.png|200px]] || [[File:Lunar eclipse chart close-1986Oct17.png|200px]]
|- align=center
| [[Total eclipse#Types|Hybrid solar eclipse]]<br />Solar Saros 124 || [[Lunar eclipse#Types of lunar eclipse|Total lunar eclipse]]<br />Lunar Saros 136
|}

== Related eclipses ==
=== Eclipses in 1986 ===
* [[Solar eclipse of April 9, 1986|A partial solar eclipse on April 9]].
* [[April 1986 lunar eclipse|A total lunar eclipse on April 24]].
* '''A hybrid solar eclipse on October 3.'''
* [[October 1986 lunar eclipse|A total lunar eclipse on October 17]].

=== Metonic ===
* Preceded by: [[Solar eclipse of December 15, 1982]]
* Followed by: [[Solar eclipse of July 22, 1990]]

=== Tzolkinex ===
* Preceded by: [[Solar eclipse of August 22, 1979]]
* Followed by: [[Solar eclipse of November 13, 1993]]

=== Half-Saros ===
* Preceded by: [[September 1977 lunar eclipse|Lunar eclipse of September 27, 1977]]
* Followed by: [[October 1995 lunar eclipse|Lunar eclipse of October 8, 1995]]

=== Tritos ===
* Preceded by: [[Solar eclipse of November 3, 1975]]
* Followed by: [[Solar eclipse of September 2, 1997]]

=== Solar Saros 124 ===
* Preceded by: [[Solar eclipse of September 22, 1968]]
* Followed by: [[Solar eclipse of October 14, 2004]]

=== Inex ===
* Preceded by: [[Solar eclipse of October 23, 1957]]
* Followed by: [[Solar eclipse of September 13, 2015]]

=== Triad ===
* Preceded by: [[Solar eclipse of December 3, 1899]]
* Followed by: [[Solar eclipse of August 3, 2073]]

=== Solar eclipses of 1986–1989 ===
{{Solar eclipse set 1986–1989}}

=== Saros 124 ===
{{Solar Saros series 124}}

=== Metonic series ===
{{Solar Metonic series 1971–2047}}

=== Tritos series ===
{{Solar Tritos series 2008 August 1}}

=== Inex series ===
{{Solar Inex series 2015 September 13}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}
{{Solar eclipse NASA reference|1951/SE1986Oct03H|19861003}}

== External links ==
* [http://nicmosis.as.arizona.edu:8000/ECLIPSE_WEB/ECLIPSE_86/ECLIPSE_86.html 03 October 1986: A Geometrically Remarkable Eclipse]

{{Solar eclipses}}

[[Category:1986 in science]]
[[Category:20th-century solar eclipses|1986 10 3]]
[[Category:October 1986]]
[[Category:Hybrid solar eclipses|1986 10 3]]