A total solar eclipse occurred at the Moon's ascending node of orbit on Friday, August 19, 1887, with a magnitude of 1.0518. 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 1.8 days before perigee (on August 21, 1887, at 0:10 UTC), the Moon's apparent diameter was larger.
The path of totality was visible from parts of modern-day Germany, Poland, Belarus, Lithuania, southeastern Latvia, Russia, Mongolia, China, North Korea, and Japan. A partial solar eclipse was also visible for parts of Europe, Northeast Africa, Asia, northern Greenland, and Alaska.
Observations
The Russian chemist Dmitri Mendeleev ascended in a balloon near Moscow to observe this eclipse. The weather in Tver Governorate was cloudy and it was rain at morning, so Mendeleev forced to fly alone. He made some notes at 6:55, 20 minutes after the start, and made some observations of the solar corona. For this flight, the scientist was awarded the medal of the Academy of Aerostatic Meteorology.
Russian writer Anton Chekhov published the short story "From the Diary of a Hot-Tempered Man" six weeks before the eclipse passed through Russia. The story includes a major section about the frustrations of a man who is trying to make a great variety of observations during the short interval of totality. In the story the eclipse date is given as 7 August 1887, as per the Julian Calendar then in use in Russia.
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.
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.
Eclipses in 1887
- A partial lunar eclipse on February 8.
- An annular solar eclipse on February 22.
- A partial lunar eclipse on August 3.
- A total solar eclipse on August 19.
Metonic
- Preceded by: Solar eclipse of October 30, 1883
- Followed by: Solar eclipse of June 6, 1891
Tzolkinex
- Preceded by: Solar eclipse of July 7, 1880
- Followed by: Solar eclipse of September 29, 1894
Half-Saros
- Preceded by: Lunar eclipse of August 13, 1878
- Followed by: Lunar eclipse of August 23, 1896
Tritos
- Preceded by: Solar eclipse of September 17, 1876
- Followed by: Solar eclipse of July 18, 1898
Solar Saros 143
- Preceded by: Solar eclipse of August 7, 1869
- Followed by: Solar eclipse of August 30, 1905
Inex
- Preceded by: Solar eclipse of September 7, 1858
- Followed by: Solar eclipse of July 30, 1916
Triad
- Preceded by: Solar eclipse of October 18, 1800
- Followed by: Solar eclipse of June 20, 1974
Solar eclipses of 1884–1888
This eclipse is a member of a semester series. An eclipse in a semester series of solar eclipses repeats approximately every 177 days and 4 hours (a semester) at alternating nodes of the Moon's orbit.
The partial solar eclipses on April 25, 1884 and October 19, 1884 occur in the previous lunar year eclipse set, and the partial solar eclipse on July 9, 1888 occurs in the next lunar year eclipse set.
Saros 143
This eclipse is a part of Saros series 143, repeating every 18 years, 11 days, and containing 72 events. The series started with a partial solar eclipse on March 7, 1617. It contains total eclipses from June 24, 1797 through October 24, 1995; hybrid eclipses from November 3, 2013 through December 6, 2067; and annular eclipses from December 16, 2085 through September 16, 2536. The series ends at member 72 as a partial eclipse on April 23, 2897. Its eclipses are tabulated in three columns; every third eclipse in the same column is one exeligmos apart, so they all cast shadows over approximately the same parts of the Earth.
The longest duration of totality was produced by member 16 at 3 minutes, 50 seconds on August 19, 1887, and the longest duration of annularity will be produced by member 51 at 4 minutes, 54 seconds on September 6, 2518. All eclipses in this series occur at the Moon’s ascending node of orbit.
Metonic series
The metonic series repeats eclipses every 19 years (6939.69 days), lasting about 5 cycles. Eclipses occur in nearly the same calendar date. In addition, the octon subseries repeats 1/5 of that or every 3.8 years (1387.94 days). All eclipses in this table occur at the Moon's ascending node.
Tritos series
This eclipse is a part of a tritos cycle, repeating at alternating nodes every 135 synodic months (≈ 3986.63 days, or 11 years minus 1 month). Their appearance and longitude are irregular due to a lack of synchronization with the anomalistic month (period of perigee), but groupings of 3 tritos cycles (≈ 33 years minus 3 months) come close (≈ 434.044 anomalistic months), so eclipses are similar in these groupings.
The partial solar eclipse on November 4, 2116 (part of Saros 164) is also a part of this series but is not included in the table below.
Inex series
This eclipse is a part of the long period inex cycle, repeating at alternating nodes, every 358 synodic months (≈ 10,571.95 days, or 29 years minus 20 days). Their appearance and longitude are irregular due to a lack of synchronization with the anomalistic month (period of perigee). However, groupings of 3 inex cycles (≈ 87 years minus 2 months) comes close (≈ 1,151.02 anomalistic months), so eclipses are similar in these groupings.