Home   Sun, Moon & Space   Eclipses   December 2, 1956 Partial Solar Eclipse

December 2, 1956 Partial Solar Eclipse

This eclipse wasn't visible in Columbus - Which upcoming eclipses can be seen in your location?

What the Eclipse Looked Like Near the Maximum Point

The animation shows what the eclipse approximately looked like near the maximum point. The curvature of the Moon's path is due to the Earth's rotation.

Live Eclipse Animation will start at:
Live Eclipse Animation has ended.
You are using an outdated browser, to view the animation please update or switch to a modern browser. Alternatively you can view the old animation by clicking here.

Where the Eclipse Was Seen

Try our new interactive eclipse maps. Zoom in and search for accurate eclipse times and visualizations for any location.


Path of the Eclipse Shadow

Regions that saw, at least, a partial eclipse: Europe, Asia, North/East Africa.

Expand for a list of selected cities where the partial eclipse was visible

This eclipse wasn't visible in Columbus - Which upcoming eclipses can be seen in your location?

Eclipse Shadow Path

Portion of Sun covered by the Moon (Eclipse obscuration)

0%

>0%

40%

The dark areas symbolize night and twilight.

When the Eclipse Happened Worldwide — Timeline

The eclipse started at one location and ended at another. The times below are actual times (in UTC) when the eclipse occurred. This calculation uses a Delta T value of 31.3 seconds.

Eclipse Stages WorldwideUTC TimeLocal Time in Columbus*
First location to see the partial eclipse beginDec 2 at 05:51:38Dec 2 at 12:51:38 am
Maximum EclipseDec 2 at 08:00:08Dec 2 at 3:00:08 am
Last location to see the partial eclipse endDec 2 at 10:08:38Dec 2 at 5:08:38 am

* These local times do not refer to a specific location but indicate the beginning, peak, and end of the eclipse on a global scale, each line referring to a different location. This eclipse isn't visible in Columbus.

Upcoming eclipses visible in Columbus

Next Partial Solar Eclipse will be on Mar 27, 1960

Eclipse calculations usually accurate to a few seconds

Countries Where the Eclipse Is Visible

CountryTypeStart of EclipseEnd of Eclipse
Afghanistan
Partial Solar Eclipse
9:58 am IRST2:27 pm AFT
Albania
Partial Solar Eclipse
6:51 am CET9:01 am CET
Algeria
Partial Solar Eclipse
7:12 am CET8:22 am CET
Andorra
Partial Solar Eclipse
8:04 am CET8:28 am CET
Armenia
Partial Solar Eclipse
9:01 am 12:02 pm
Austria
Partial Solar Eclipse
7:20 am CET9:07 am CET
Azerbaijan
Partial Solar Eclipse
9:02 am 12:12 pm
Bahrain
Partial Solar Eclipse
10:19 am GST1:03 pm GST
Bangladesh
Partial Solar Eclipse
2:01 pm 4:00 pm
Belarus
Partial Solar Eclipse
8:56 am MSK11:40 am MSK
Belgium
Partial Solar Eclipse
8:12 am CET8:56 am CET
Bhutan
Partial Solar Eclipse
4:00 pm CST6:03 pm CST
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Partial Solar Eclipse
6:56 am CET9:04 am CET
Bulgaria
Partial Solar Eclipse
6:51 am CET10:22 am EET
China
Partial Solar Eclipse
2:56 pm CST6:08 pm CST
Croatia
Partial Solar Eclipse
6:56 am CET9:05 am CET
Cyprus
Partial Solar Eclipse
7:55 am EET10:25 am EET
Czechia
Partial Solar Eclipse
7:20 am CET9:12 am CET
Denmark
Partial Solar Eclipse
8:02 am CET9:15 am CET
Egypt
Partial Solar Eclipse
7:58 am EET10:16 am EET
Eritrea
Partial Solar Eclipse
8:40 am CAT9:45 am CAT
Estonia
Partial Solar Eclipse
9:28 am MSK11:38 am MSK
Finland
Partial Solar Eclipse
8:50 am EET10:46 am EET
France
Partial Solar Eclipse
7:30 am CET8:54 am CET
Georgia
Partial Solar Eclipse
8:59 am MSK12:03 pm
Germany
Partial Solar Eclipse
7:35 am CET9:12 am CET
Greece
Partial Solar Eclipse
7:51 am EET10:14 am EET
Hungary
Partial Solar Eclipse
7:58 am EET9:16 am CET
India
Partial Solar Eclipse
11:59 am 3:33 pm IST
Iran
Partial Solar Eclipse
8:02 am EET2:36 pm
Iraq
Partial Solar Eclipse
8:59 am AST12:01 pm AST
Israel
Partial Solar Eclipse
7:58 am IST10:25 am IST
Italy
Partial Solar Eclipse
6:52 am CET8:57 am CET
Jordan
Partial Solar Eclipse
7:58 am IST11:34 am AST
Kazakhstan
Partial Solar Eclipse
10:08 am 4:00 pm ALMT
Kosovo
Partial Solar Eclipse
6:51 am CET9:05 am CET
Kuwait
Partial Solar Eclipse
9:09 am AST12:00 noon AST
Kyrgyzstan
Partial Solar Eclipse
12:45 pm 6:00 pm CST
Laos
Partial Solar Eclipse
5:15 pm CST5:27 pm CST
Latvia
Partial Solar Eclipse
9:16 am MSK11:35 am MSK
Lebanon
Partial Solar Eclipse
7:57 am EET10:29 am EET
Libya
Partial Solar Eclipse
6:58 am CET8:48 am CET
Liechtenstein
Partial Solar Eclipse
7:48 am CET8:52 am CET
Lithuania
Partial Solar Eclipse
9:14 am MSK11:32 am MSK
Luxembourg
Partial Solar Eclipse
8:10 am CET8:54 am CET
Malta
Partial Solar Eclipse
6:57 am CET8:32 am CET
Moldova
Partial Solar Eclipse
8:53 am MSK11:28 am MSK
Monaco
Partial Solar Eclipse
7:45 am CET8:40 am CET
Mongolia
Partial Solar Eclipse
1:18 pm HOVT4:05 pm HOVT
Montenegro
Partial Solar Eclipse
6:51 am CET9:02 am CET
Myanmar
Partial Solar Eclipse
1:52 pm IST6:01 pm CST
Nepal
Partial Solar Eclipse
12:57 pm IST3:32 pm IST
Netherlands
Partial Solar Eclipse
8:17 am CET9:02 am CET
North Macedonia
Partial Solar Eclipse
6:51 am CET9:06 am CET
Norway
Partial Solar Eclipse
8:41 am CET9:28 am CET
Oman
Partial Solar Eclipse
10:28 am GST1:22 pm GST
Pakistan
Partial Solar Eclipse
11:03 am AFT3:00 pm
Palestine
Partial Solar Eclipse
7:58 am IST10:23 am EET
Poland
Partial Solar Eclipse
9:02 am MSK9:26 am CET
Qatar
Partial Solar Eclipse
10:20 am GST1:05 pm GST
Romania
Partial Solar Eclipse
7:51 am EET11:26 am MSK
Russia
Partial Solar Eclipse
8:57 am MSK3:59 pm HOVT
San Marino
Partial Solar Eclipse
7:25 am CET8:50 am CET
Saudi Arabia
Partial Solar Eclipse
8:00 am EET1:10 pm GST
Serbia
Partial Solar Eclipse
6:51 am CET10:10 am EET
Slovakia
Partial Solar Eclipse
7:02 am CET9:17 am CET
Slovenia
Partial Solar Eclipse
7:18 am CET9:02 am CET
Somalia
Partial Solar Eclipse
9:54 am 10:32 am
Spain
Partial Solar Eclipse
7:45 am CET8:30 am CET
Sudan
Partial Solar Eclipse
8:21 am CAT9:59 am CAT
Sweden
Partial Solar Eclipse
8:01 am CET10:40 am EET
Switzerland
Partial Solar Eclipse
7:42 am CET8:53 am CET
Syria
Partial Solar Eclipse
7:56 am EET10:49 am EET
Tajikistan
Partial Solar Eclipse
11:41 am 3:57 pm
Tunisia
Partial Solar Eclipse
7:04 am CET8:28 am CET
Turkey
Partial Solar Eclipse
7:52 am EET12:28 pm IRST
Turkmenistan
Partial Solar Eclipse
11:12 am 2:45 pm
Ukraine
Partial Solar Eclipse
7:53 am EET11:51 am MSK
United Arab Emirates
Partial Solar Eclipse
10:23 am GST1:18 pm GST
United Kingdom
Partial Solar Eclipse
7:37 am GMT7:55 am GMT
Uzbekistan
Partial Solar Eclipse
11:18 am 3:53 pm
Vatican City (Holy See)
Partial Solar Eclipse
7:19 am CET8:44 am CET
Vietnam
Partial Solar Eclipse
4:16 pm ICT4:27 pm ICT
Yemen
Partial Solar Eclipse
9:37 am AST12:51 pm GST
Åland Islands
Partial Solar Eclipse
9:12 am EET10:30 am EET

All times shown in this table are local time. (Note: more than one time zone is listed.)

How Many People Can See This Eclipse?

Number of People Seeing...Number of People*Fraction of World Population
Any part of the eclipse1,140,000,00040.71%
At least 10% partial664,000,00023.73%
At least 20% partial421,000,00015.04%
At least 30% partial260,000,0009.31%
At least 40% partial135,000,0004.84%
At least 50% partial68,600,0002.45%
At least 60% partial35,000,0001.25%
At least 70% partial2,010,0000.07%

* The number of people refers to the resident population (as a round number) in areas where the eclipse is visible. timeanddate has calculated these numbers using raw population data provided by the Center for International Earth Science Information Network (CIESIN) at Columbia University. The raw data is based on population estimates from the year 2000 to 2020.

An Eclipse Never Comes Alone!

A solar eclipse always occurs about two weeks before or after a lunar eclipse.

Usually, there are two eclipses in a row, but other times, there are three during the same eclipse season.

All eclipses 1900 — 2199

This is the second eclipse this season.

First eclipse this season: November 18, 1956 — Total Lunar Eclipse