Solar eclipse of February 26, 1979

Solar eclipse of February 26, 1979
Map
Type of eclipse
Nature Total
Gamma 0.8981
Magnitude 1.0391
Maximum eclipse
Duration 169 sec (2 m 49 s)
Coordinates 52°06′N 94°30′W / 52.1°N 94.5°W
Max. width of band 298 km (185 mi)
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 partly 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'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. 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 north-central state of North Dakota, parts of the Canadian provinces of Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec, and what is now the Canadian Territory of Nunavut, and Greenland.

Visibility

Many visitors traveled to the Pacific Northwest to view the eclipse,[1] 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.

Although the path of totality passed through Portland, Oregon in early morning, it was not directly observable from the Portland area due to overcast skies.[2]

The path of totality passed through Winnipeg, Manitoba in the early afternoon.

Gallery

Related eclipses

A partial lunar eclipse occurred on March 13, 1979, 15 days later, visible over Africa, Europe and Asia. A total lunar eclipse followed on September 6, 1979.

Solar eclipses of 1979–1982

Each member in a semester series of solar eclipses repeats approximately every 177 days and 4 hours (a semester) at alternating nodes of the Moon's orbit.

Solar eclipse series sets from 1979 to 1982
Ascending node   Descending node
SarosMap SarosMap
120
February 26, 1979
Total		 125
August 22, 1979
Annular
130
February 16, 1980
Total		 135
August 10, 1980
Annular
140
February 4, 1981
Annular		 145
July 31, 1981
Total
150
January 25, 1982
Partial		 155
July 20, 1982
Partial
Partial solar eclipses on June 21, 1982 and December 15, 1982 occur in the next lunar year eclipse set.

Saros 120

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, 50 seconds on March 9, 1997.[3]

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

Metonic cycle

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).

colspan="5" style="background:lightsteelblue;|This series has 21 eclipse events between July 22, 1971 and July 22, 2047
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

Notes

  1. ↑ "Eclipse chased across Northwest". Daytona Beach Morning Journal. New York Times. February 27, 1979. p. 1A.
  2. ↑ "Thick clouds hide eclipse from many". Eugene Register-Guard. Associated Press. February 26, 1979. p. 1A.
  3. ↑ http://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/SEsaros/SEsaros120.html

See also

References

Photos/observations:

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Solar eclipse of 1979 February 26.