A total solar eclipse occurred at the Moon's descending node of orbit between Sunday, May 6, and Monday, May 7, 1883, with a magnitude of 1.0634.

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.

An expedition of American astronomers traveled from Peru to Caroline Island aboard the USS Hartford to observe the total solar eclipse.

A French expedition also observed the eclipse from Caroline, and the United States Navy mapped the atoll.

[2] Johann Palisa, a member of the expedition, discovered an asteroid later that year which he named Carolina "in remembrance of his visit to [the] island".

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