A partial solar eclipse occurred at the Moon's descending node of orbit on Monday, December 25, 2000 (also known as the "Christmas 2000 Solar Eclipse"), with a magnitude of 0.7228. It was the first solar eclipse to fall on Christmas since 1954, and will be the last until 2038. 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 partial solar eclipse occurs in the polar regions of the Earth when the center of the Moon's shadow misses the Earth. This was also the last solar eclipse of the 20th century.
This was the first solar eclipse on Christmas Day since the annular solar eclipse of 1954.
This was the last of four partial solar eclipses in 2000, with the others occurring on February 5, July 1, and July 31.
A partial eclipse was visible for parts of North America and the Caribbean.
<br />Animated path
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.
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.