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December 4, 2002 Total 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.

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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: South in Asia, Australia, Much of Africa, Pacific, Atlantic, Indian Ocean, Antarctica.

Expand for a list of selected cities where at least part of the total eclipse was visible
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)

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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 64.5 seconds.

Eclipse Stages WorldwideUTC TimeLocal Time in Columbus*
First location to see the partial eclipse beginDec 4 at 04:51:24Dec 3 at 11:51:24 pm
First location to see the full eclipse beginDec 4 at 05:50:20Dec 4 at 12:50:20 am
Maximum EclipseDec 4 at 07:31:13Dec 4 at 2:31:13 am
Last location to see the full eclipse endDec 4 at 09:11:55Dec 4 at 4:11:55 am
Last location to see the partial eclipse endDec 4 at 10:11:02Dec 4 at 5:11:02 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 Total Solar Eclipse will be on Nov 23 – Nov 24, 2003

Eclipse calculations usually accurate to a few seconds

Countries Where the Eclipse Is Visible

CountryTypeStart of EclipseEnd of Eclipse
Angola
Total Solar Eclipse
5:53 am WAT9:18 am CAT
Australia
Total Solar Eclipse
3:54 pm AWST6:11 pm AWST
Botswana
Total Solar Eclipse
7:04 am CAT9:34 am SAST
Mozambique
Total Solar Eclipse
7:02 am CAT9:47 am CAT
Namibia
Total Solar Eclipse
7:04 am CAT9:28 am SAST
South Africa
Total Solar Eclipse
7:11 am SAST10:17 am SAST
Zambia
Total Solar Eclipse
6:57 am CAT9:24 am CAT
Zimbabwe
Total Solar Eclipse
7:03 am CAT9:37 am CAT
Algeria
Partial Solar Eclipse
7:39 am EET7:20 am CET
Antarctica
Partial Solar Eclipse
9:55 am 5:11 pm
Benin
Partial Solar Eclipse
6:46 am WAT6:37 am GMT
Burkina Faso
Partial Solar Eclipse
6:56 am WAT6:35 am GMT
Burundi
Partial Solar Eclipse
6:55 am CAT9:00 am CAT
Cameroon
Partial Solar Eclipse
5:51 am WAT7:43 am WAT
Central African Republic
Partial Solar Eclipse
5:51 am WAT7:42 am WAT
Chad
Partial Solar Eclipse
5:53 am WAT7:34 am WAT
Christmas Island
Partial Solar Eclipse
3:40 pm CXT4:39 pm CXT
Cocos (Keeling) Islands
Partial Solar Eclipse
2:58 pm CCT3:54 pm CCT
Comoros
Partial Solar Eclipse
8:11 am EAT10:35 am EAT
Congo
Partial Solar Eclipse
5:51 am WAT7:52 am WAT
Congo Democratic Republic
Partial Solar Eclipse
5:51 am WAT9:19 am CAT
Cote d'Ivoire
Partial Solar Eclipse
6:06 am GMT6:41 am GMT
East Timor
Partial Solar Eclipse
4:40 pm WITA6:53 pm TLT
Equatorial Guinea
Partial Solar Eclipse
6:02 am WAT7:45 am WAT
Eswatini
Partial Solar Eclipse
7:17 am SAST9:46 am SAST
Ethiopia
Partial Solar Eclipse
8:06 am EAT9:40 am EAT
French Southern Territories
Partial Solar Eclipse
10:14 am TFT2:31 pm TFT
Gabon
Partial Solar Eclipse
5:51 am WAT7:50 am WAT
Ghana
Partial Solar Eclipse
5:51 am GMT6:39 am GMT
Guinea
Partial Solar Eclipse
6:32 am GMT6:39 am GMT
Indonesia
Partial Solar Eclipse
5:34 pm WIT6:02 pm WITA
Kenya
Partial Solar Eclipse
7:59 am EAT10:07 am EAT
Lesotho
Partial Solar Eclipse
7:21 am SAST9:45 am SAST
Liberia
Partial Solar Eclipse
6:25 am GMT6:41 am GMT
Libya
Partial Solar Eclipse
7:24 am EET7:58 am EET
Madagascar
Partial Solar Eclipse
8:15 am EAT11:11 am EAT
Malawi
Partial Solar Eclipse
7:59 am EAT9:33 am CAT
Mali
Partial Solar Eclipse
6:57 am WAT6:36 am GMT
Mauritius
Partial Solar Eclipse
9:42 am MUT12:33 pm MUT
Mayotte
Partial Solar Eclipse
8:14 am EAT10:38 am EAT
New Zealand
Partial Solar Eclipse
9:06 pm NZDT9:51 pm NZDT
Niger
Partial Solar Eclipse
6:12 am WAT7:30 am WAT
Nigeria
Partial Solar Eclipse
6:07 am WAT7:39 am WAT
Papua New Guinea
Partial Solar Eclipse
6:33 pm PGT5:43 pm WIT
Reunion
Partial Solar Eclipse
9:38 am RET12:21 pm RET
Rwanda
Partial Solar Eclipse
6:55 am CAT8:56 am CAT
Saint Helena
Partial Solar Eclipse
5:42 am GMT7:04 am GMT
Sao Tome and Principe
Partial Solar Eclipse
5:19 am GMT6:44 am GMT
Seychelles
Partial Solar Eclipse
9:15 am SCT11:30 am SCT
Somalia
Partial Solar Eclipse
8:09 am EAT9:58 am EAT
South Sudan
Partial Solar Eclipse
6:56 am CAT8:42 am CAT
Sudan
Partial Solar Eclipse
7:56 am EAT9:30 am EAT
Tanzania
Partial Solar Eclipse
6:55 am CAT9:25 am CAT
Togo
Partial Solar Eclipse
5:49 am GMT6:37 am GMT
Uganda
Partial Solar Eclipse
6:55 am CAT9:54 am EAT

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 eclipse593,000,0009.41%
At least 10% partial442,000,0007.00%
At least 20% partial413,000,0006.55%
At least 30% partial350,000,0005.55%
At least 40% partial272,000,0004.32%
At least 50% partial214,000,0003.40%
At least 60% partial130,000,0002.07%
At least 70% partial98,100,0001.56%
At least 80% partial63,400,0001.01%
At least 90% partial26,100,0000.41%
Totality or annularity2,510,0000.04%

* 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 19–20, 2002 — Penumbral Lunar Eclipse