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Solar eclipse of February 26, 1979

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Solar eclipse of February 26, 1979
Totality as seen from Brandon, Manitoba
Map
Type of eclipse
NatureTotal
Gamma0.8981
Magnitude1.0391
Maximum eclipse
Duration169 s (2 min 49 s)
Coordinates52°06′N 94°30′W / 52.1°N 94.5°W / 52.1; -94.5
Max. width of band298 km (185 mi)
Times (UTC)
Greatest eclipse16:55:06
References
Saros120 (59 of 71)
Catalog # (SE5000)9462

A total solar eclipse occurred at the Moon's descending node of orbit on Monday, February 26, 1979, with a magnitude of 1.0391. A solar eclipse is an astronomical phenomenon that 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. Occurring only 18 hours and 35 minutes after perigee (on February 25, 1979, at 22:19 UTC), the Moon's apparent diameter was larger.

The central shadow of the Moon passed through Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana (where totality covered almost the entire state), North Dakota, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec, the Northwest Territories of Canada (the portion that is now Nunavut), and Greenland.

Visibility[edit]

Animation of eclipse path

United States[edit]

Many visitors traveled to the Pacific Northwest to view the Monday morning eclipse,[1] as it was the last chance to view a total solar eclipse in the contiguous United States for 38 years, 5 months, 26 days. The next opportunity was on August 21, 2017.[2] Several cities, including Lewiston, Idaho, and Goldendale, Washington, organized viewing events amid an expected bump in tourist traffic.[2] Television station KING-TV of Seattle produced a live broadcast of the eclipse from Goldendale and other cities in the Northwest.[3]

Although the path of totality passed through Portland shortly after sunrise (maximum at 8:14 am PST),[2] it was not directly observable due to overcast skies in northwestern Oregon.[4][5] At the Goldendale Observatory State Park in Washington, an estimated 10,000 people were able to view the eclipse after the overcast skies parted during totality.[6][7] Over 1,000 aircraft were guided around the path of totality by local air traffic control offices; the volume of flights in the area caused delays to passenger service at Seattle–Tacoma International Airport and Portland International Airport.[8][9] The Seattle-based Pacific Science Center chartered a Boeing 727 with 94 passengers to chase the eclipse.[10]

Canada[edit]

About a half hour later, the path of totality was in Manitoba and passed through cloudless Winnipeg in the late morning, maximum was at 10:48 am CST.[11] The greatest eclipse occurred seven minutes later at 10:55 am CST.

Canada's next total solar eclipse took place on August 1, 2008, after which Canada did not see another total solar eclipse until April 8, 2024.[12]

Observations[edit]

Portland, Oregon was the largest city within the path of totality. However, the thick clouds made observation unsuccessful. Only some areas outside the city could see the sun through the holes in the clouds. There were also charter flights allowing passengers to observe from the air.[13] Clouds covered most areas of the states of Oregon and Washington, and there were some clouds in western Montana. Observations were successful in places including North Dakota.[14][15] Jay Pasachoff led a team from Williams College in Massachusetts to Brandon University in Manitoba, Canada and successfully observed the total eclipse there.[16]

In literature[edit]

Writer Annie Dillard viewed the eclipse from the Yakima River Valley in central Washington state. She described her impressions of the eclipse in an essay, "Total Eclipse," first published in the magazine Antaeus and then in her collection, Teaching a Stone to Talk (1982). It was later selected for inclusion in The Best American Essays of the [20th] Century (2000).[17] Dillard describes a nearly overwhelming emotional experience, as suggested in this quotation: "I pray you will never see anything more awful in the sky." Describing the reactions of other onlookers, she relates "I heard screams."

The 1979 eclipse was also referenced in the opening pages of Douglas Coupland's novel, Generation X.

Related eclipses[edit]

Eclipses in 1979[edit]

Metonic[edit]

Tzolkinex[edit]

Half-Saros[edit]

Tritos[edit]

Solar Saros 120[edit]

Inex[edit]

Triad[edit]

Solar eclipses of 1979–1982[edit]

This eclipse is a member of a semester series. An eclipse 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.[18]

The partial solar eclipses on June 21, 1982 and December 15, 1982 occur in the next lunar year eclipse set.

Solar eclipse series sets from 1979 to 1982
Descending node   Ascending node
Saros Map Gamma Saros Map Gamma
120

Totality in Brandon, MB,
Canada 		February 26, 1979

Total 		0.8981 125 August 22, 1979

Annular 		−0.9632
130 February 16, 1980

Total 		0.2224 135 August 10, 1980

Annular 		−0.1915
140 February 4, 1981

Annular 		−0.4838 145 July 31, 1981

Total 		0.5792
150 January 25, 1982

Partial 		−1.2311 155 July 20, 1982

Partial 		1.2886

Saros 120[edit]

This eclipse is a part of Saros series 120, repeating every 18 years, 11 days, and containing 71 events. The series started with a partial solar eclipse on May 27, 933 AD. It contains annular eclipses from August 11, 1059 through April 26, 1492; hybrid eclipses from May 8, 1510 through June 8, 1564; and total eclipses from June 20, 1582 through March 30, 2033. The series ends at member 71 as a partial eclipse on July 7, 2195. Its eclipses are tabulated in three columns; every third eclipse in the same column is one exeligmos apart, so they all cast shadows over approximately the same parts of the Earth.

The longest duration of annularity was produced by member 11 at 6 minutes, 24 seconds on September 11, 1113, and the longest duration of totality was produced by member 60 at 2 minutes, 50 seconds on March 9, 1997. All eclipses in this series occur at the Moon’s descending node of orbit.[19]

Series members 50–71 occur between 1801 and 2195:
50 51 52

November 19, 1816
November 30, 1834
December 11, 1852
53 54 55

December 22, 1870
January 1, 1889
January 14, 1907
56 57 58

January 24, 1925
February 4, 1943
February 15, 1961
59 60 61

February 26, 1979
March 9, 1997
March 20, 2015
62 63 64

March 30, 2033
April 11, 2051
April 21, 2069
65 66 67

May 2, 2087
May 14, 2105
May 25, 2123
68 69 70

June 4, 2141
June 16, 2159
June 26, 2177
71

July 7, 2195

Notes[edit]

  1. ^ "Eclipse chased across Northwest". Daytona Beach Morning Journal. New York Times. February 27, 1979. p. 1A.
  2. ^ a b c "Total Eclipse". The Spokesman-Review. February 25, 1979. p. 6.
  3. ^ Nast, Stan (February 26, 1979). "The Big Eclipse Cover-up". Seattle Post-Intelligencer. p. 1.
  4. ^ "Thick clouds hide eclipse from many". Eugene Register-Guard. Associated Press. February 26, 1979. p. 1A.
  5. ^ "Sun gives a wink to Northwest U.S." Spokane Daily Chronicle. Associated Press. February 26, 1979. p. 1.
  6. ^ Hahn, Jon (February 27, 1979). "Goldendale's Heavens Opened For a Totaling Experience". Seattle Post-Intelligencer. p. A1.
  7. ^ Richards, Leverett (February 27, 1979). "Moon devours sun above overcast NW". The Oregonian. p. A1.
  8. ^ Crick, Rolla J. (February 26, 1979). "Sun watchers crowd skies". The Oregon Journal. p. 9.
  9. ^ "Skies in path of eclipse aswarm with aircraft". The Seattle Times. February 26, 1979. p. A14.
  10. ^ Connolly, Patrick (February 26, 1979). "Eclipse viewers aboard 727 play musical chairs". The Seattle Times. p. A14.
  11. ^ Van, Jon (February 27, 1979). "Eclipse turns morning to night at 10:48 am". Chicago Tribune. p. 2, sec. 1.
  12. ^ Dickinson, Terence (August 3, 2017). "Canada's last solar eclipse in 1979". Maclean's. Archived from the original on August 12, 2017. Retrieved August 24, 2017.
  13. ^ "Thick clouds hide eclipse from many". The Register-Guard. 26 February 1979. p. 1. Archived from the original on 18 October 2020.
  14. ^ "Tracking Our Last Eclipse of the Century" (PDF). Life: 110–118. April 1979. Archived from the original (PDF) on 13 March 2016.
  15. ^ "Eclipse Chased Across Northwest". The Daytona Beach News-Journal. 27 February 1979. p. 1.
  16. ^ "1979, Manitoba, Canada". Williams College. Archived from the original on 4 August 2020.
  17. ^ Atwan, Robert (2001-10-10). Oates, Joyce Carol (ed.). The Best American Essays of the Century (Reprint ed.). Mariner Books. ISBN 9780618155873.
  18. ^ van Gent, R.H. "Solar- and Lunar-Eclipse Predictions from Antiquity to the Present". A Catalogue of Eclipse Cycles. Utrecht University. Retrieved 6 October 2018.
  19. ^ "NASA - Catalog of Solar Eclipses of Saros 120". eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov.

References[edit]

External links[edit]

Photos/observations:

Narrative Descriptions:

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