A total solar eclipse occurred at the Moon's descending node of orbit on Sunday, December 22, 1889, with a magnitude of 1.0449.

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.

[1] The path of totality was visible from parts of modern-day Trinidad and Tobago, northern French Guiana, Angola, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, Burundi, Tanzania, Kenya, and Somalia.

A partial solar eclipse was also visible for parts of the eastern Caribbean, northern and central South America, and Africa.

The eclipse was the focus of a 242-day United States scientific expedition, roughly 70 miles south of Luanda.

The eclipse was the focus of a scientific expedition from the United States, led by David P. Todd of Amherst College and including a team of at least six.