Solar eclipse of October 3, 1986

A total solar eclipse occurred at the Moon's descending node of orbit on Friday, October 3, 1986, with a 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. 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. At maximum eclipse the solar elevation was about 6°. The path width was just about 800 meters wide.

This eclipse was the last central eclipse of saros 124 and the only hybrid eclipse of that saros.

Observations
The only witnesses of a few seconds of brief totality were the "Gang of Nine" eclipse chasers aboard a plane at an altitude of 40,000 feet.

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.

Eclipses in 1986

 * A partial solar eclipse on April 9, 1986.
 * A total lunar eclipse on April 24, 1986.
 * A hybrid solar eclipse on October 3, 1986.
 * A total lunar eclipse on October 17, 1986.

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: Lunar eclipse of September 27, 1977
 * Followed by: 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