| Solar eclipse of February 26, 1979 | |
|---|---|
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Map
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| Type of eclipse | |
| Nature | Total |
| Gamma | 0.8981 |
| Magnitude | 1.0391 |
| Maximum eclipse | |
| Duration | 2m 49s |
| Coordinates | 52.1N 94.5W |
| Max. width of band | 298 km |
| Times (UTC) | |
| Greatest eclipse | 16:55:06 |
| References | |
| Saros | 120 (59 of 71) |
| Catalog # (SE5000) | 9462 |
In astronomy, a total solar eclipse occurred on Monday, February 26, 1979. A solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes between Earth and the Sun, thereby totally or partially 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, blocking all direct sunlight, turning day into darkness. Totality occurs in a narrow path across the surface of the Earth, while a partial solar eclipse will be visible over a region thousands of kilometres wide.
The central shadow of the moon passed through the northwestern U.S. states of Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana (where totality covered almost the entire state), the Midwestern state of North Dakota, and the central and eastern Canadian provinces of Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec, and Nunavut, and Greenland.
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Many visitors traveled to the Pacific Northwest to view the eclipse, since it would be the last chance to view a total solar eclipse in the United States for almost four decades. The next over the United states will be the total solar eclipse of August 21, 2017.
The path of totality passed through Portland, Oregon in early morning.
A partial lunar eclipse occurred on March 13, 1979, 15 days later, visible over Africa, Europe and Asia. A total lunar eclipse followed on on September 6, 1979.
This set of solar eclipses repeat approximately every 177 days and 4 hours at alternating nodes of the moon's orbit.
| Ascending node | Descending node | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saros | Map | Saros | Map | |||
| 120 | February 26, 1979 Total |
125 | August 22, 1979 Annular |
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| 130 | February 16, 1980 Total |
135 | August 10, 1980 Annular |
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| 140 | February 4, 1981 Annular |
145 | July 31, 1981 Total |
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| 150 | January 25, 1982 Partial |
155 | July 20, 1982 Partial |
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| Partial solar eclipses on June 21, 1982 and December 15, 1982 occur in the next lunar year eclipse set. | ||||||
It is a part of Saros cycle 120, repeating every 18 years, 11 days, containing 71 events. The series started with partial solar eclipse on May 27, 933 AD, and reached an annular eclipse on August 11, 1059. It was a hybrid event for 3 dates: May 8, 1510, through May 29, 1546, and total eclipses from June 8, 1564 through March 30, 2033. The series ends at member 71 as a partial eclipse on July 7, 2195. The longest duration of totality was 2 minutes, 16 seconds on August 12, 1654.[1]
Series members 55-65 occur between 1901 and 2100:
| 55 | 56 | 57 |
|---|---|---|
January 14, 1907 |
January 24, 1925 |
February 4, 1943 |
| 58 | 59 | 60 |
February 15, 1961 |
February 26, 1979 |
March 9, 1997 |
| 61 | 62 | 63 |
March 20, 2015 |
March 30, 2033 |
April 11, 2051 |
| 64 | 65 | |
April 21, 2069 |
May 2, 2087 |
The metonic series repeats eclipses every 19 years (6939.69 days), lasting about 5 cycles. Eclipses occur in nearly the same calendar date. In addition the octon subseries repeats 1/5 of that or every 3.8 years (1387.94 days).
| July 21-22 | May 9-11 | February 26-27 | December 14-15 | October 2-3 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 116 | 118 | 120 | 122 | 124 |
July 22, 1971 |
May 11, 1975 |
February 26, 1979 |
December 15, 1982 |
October 3, 1986 |
| 126 | 128 | 130 | 132 | 134 |
July 22, 1990 |
May 10, 1994 |
February 26, 1998 |
December 14, 2001 |
October 3, 2005 |
| 136 | 138 | 140 | 142 | 144 |
July 22, 2009 |
May 10, 2013 |
February 26, 2017 |
December 14, 2020 |
October 2, 2024 |
| 146 | 148 | 150 | 152 | 154 |
July 22, 2028 |
May 9, 2032 |
February 27, 2036 |
December 15, 2039 |
October 3, 2043 |
| 156 | ||||
July 22, 2047 |
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Photos/observations:
