A total solar eclipse occurred at the Moon's descending node of orbit on Thursday, December 22, 1870, with a magnitude of 1.0248.

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 1.4 days before perigee (on December 21, 1870, at 3:50 UTC), the Moon's apparent diameter was larger.

[1] The path of totality was visible from parts of modern-day southern Portugal, southern Spain, northern Morocco, northern Algeria, Tunisia, Italy, Greece, northwestern Turkey, southeastern Bulgaria, southeastern Ukraine, and western Russia.

Their appearance and longitude are irregular due to a lack of synchronization with the anomalistic month (period of perigee).