A total solar eclipse occurred at the Moon's descending node of orbit on Thursday, February 26, 1998,[1] with a magnitude of 1.0441. 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. Occurring about 1.1 days before perigee (on February 27, 1998, at 19:50 UTC), the Moon's apparent diameter was larger.[2]
| Solar eclipse of February 26, 1998 | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Total eclipse near Guadeloupe | |
 Map | |
| Type of eclipse | |
| Nature | Total |
| Gamma | 0.2391 |
| Magnitude | 1.0441 |
| Maximum eclipse | |
| Duration | 249 s (4 min 9 s) |
| Coordinates | 4°42′N 82°42′W / 4.7°N 82.7°W |
| Max. width of band | 151 km (94 mi) |
| Times (UTC) | |
| Greatest eclipse | 17:29:27 |
| References | |
| Saros | 130 (51 of 73) |
| Catalog # (SE5000) | 9503 |
Totality was visible in the Galápagos Islands, Panama, Colombia, the Paraguaná Peninsula in northwestern Venezuela, all of Aruba, most of Curaçao and the northwestern tip of Bonaire (belonging to Netherlands Antilles which dissolved later), all of Montserrat, Guadeloupe and Antigua and Barbuda. A partial eclipse was visible for parts of Mexico, the southern and eastern United States, Central America, the Caribbean, northern South America, West Africa, and the Iberian Peninsula.
Observations
editJay Pasachoff led a team from Williams College, Massachusetts to Aruba and studied the rapid oscillations of the corona and coronal temperature, and also recorded coronal and other solar images in the visible and infrared parts of the spectrum. The team also photographed the corona using the same green filter onboard the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory, providing calibration for the spacecraft.[3] Fred Espenak, an astrophysicist of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center also observed it in Aruba. Clouds gradually gathered at the beginning of the eclipse, and it rained for a while. This was the first precipitation on the island in 6 months. Later, the sky gradually cleared up and totality was successfully seen.[4] The wind speed on the island was often larger than 30 knots.[3]
A team of the Johnson Space Center observed the eclipse in Curaçao. Curaçao got the first precipitation in 4 months on the morning of the eclipse day, but it gradually cleared up afterwards. During the totality, the sky was completely clear. The corona was extending in the east-west direction, and helmet streamers could be seen at the poles of the sun.[5]
In popular culture
editThe 2001 Japanese film Orozco the Embalmer briefly featured the total eclipse as seen from Colombia.
Eclipse details
editShown below are two tables displaying details about this particular solar eclipse. The first table outlines times at which the moon's penumbra or umbra attains the specific parameter, and the second table describes various other parameters pertaining to this eclipse.[6]
| Event | Time (UTC) |
|---|---|
| First Penumbral External Contact | 1998 February 26 at 14:51:26.2 UTC |
| First Umbral External Contact | 1998 February 26 at 15:47:48.6 UTC |
| First Central Line | 1998 February 26 at 15:48:32.9 UTC |
| First Umbral Internal Contact | 1998 February 26 at 15:49:17.2 UTC |
| First Penumbral Internal Contact | 1998 February 26 at 16:48:32.4 UTC |
| Ecliptic Conjunction | 1998 February 26 at 17:26:58.5 UTC |
| Greatest Duration | 1998 February 26 at 17:28:01.9 UTC |
| Greatest Eclipse | 1998 February 26 at 17:29:26.7 UTC |
| Equatorial Conjunction | 1998 February 26 at 17:36:39.9 UTC |
| Last Penumbral Internal Contact | 1998 February 26 at 18:10:10.1 UTC |
| Last Umbral Internal Contact | 1998 February 26 at 19:09:29.1 UTC |
| Last Central Line | 1998 February 26 at 19:10:14.8 UTC |
| Last Umbral External Contact | 1998 February 26 at 19:11:00.5 UTC |
| Last Penumbral External Contact | 1998 February 26 at 20:07:20.7 UTC |
| Parameter | Value |
|---|---|
| Eclipse Magnitude | 1.04411 |
| Eclipse Obscuration | 1.09017 |
| Gamma | 0.23909 |
| Sun Right Ascension | 22h38m18.9s |
| Sun Declination | -08°36'05.1" |
| Sun Semi-Diameter | 16'09.1" |
| Sun Equatorial Horizontal Parallax | 08.9" |
| Moon Right Ascension | 22h38m02.5s |
| Moon Declination | -08°22'08.5" |
| Moon Semi-Diameter | 16'35.2" |
| Moon Equatorial Horizontal Parallax | 1°00'52.6" |
| ΔT | 63.0 s |
Eclipse season
editThis eclipse is part of an eclipse season, a period, roughly every six months, when eclipses occur. Only two (or occasionally three) eclipse seasons occur each year, and each season lasts about 35 days and repeats just short of six months (173 days) later; thus two full eclipse seasons always occur each year. Either two or three eclipses happen each eclipse season. In the sequence below, each eclipse is separated by a fortnight.
| February 26 Descending node (new moon) |
March 13 Ascending node (full moon) |
|---|---|
| Total solar eclipse Solar Saros 130 |
Penumbral lunar eclipse Lunar Saros 142 |
Related eclipses
editEclipses in 1998
edit- A total solar eclipse on February 26.
- A penumbral lunar eclipse on March 13.
- A penumbral lunar eclipse on August 8.
- An annular solar eclipse on August 22.
- A penumbral lunar eclipse on September 6.
Metonic
edit- Preceded by: Solar eclipse of May 10, 1994
- Followed by: Solar eclipse of December 14, 2001
Tzolkinex
edit- Preceded by: Solar eclipse of January 15, 1991
- Followed by: Solar eclipse of April 8, 2005
Half-Saros
edit- Preceded by: Lunar eclipse of February 20, 1989
- Followed by: Lunar eclipse of March 3, 2007
Tritos
edit- Preceded by: Solar eclipse of March 29, 1987
- Followed by: Solar eclipse of January 26, 2009
Solar Saros 130
edit- Preceded by: Solar eclipse of February 16, 1980
- Followed by: Solar eclipse of March 9, 2016
Inex
edit- Preceded by: Solar eclipse of March 18, 1969
- Followed by: Solar eclipse of February 6, 2027
Triad
edit- Preceded by: Solar eclipse of April 28, 1911
- Followed by: Solar eclipse of December 27, 2084
Solar eclipses of 1997–2000
editThis 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.[7]
The partial solar eclipses on July 1, 2000 and December 25, 2000 occur in the next lunar year eclipse set.
| Solar eclipse series sets from 1997 to 2000 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Descending node | Ascending node | |||||
| Saros | Map | Gamma | Saros | Map | Gamma | |
| 120 Totality in Chita, Russia |
March 9, 1997 Total |
0.9183 | 125 | September 2, 1997 Partial |
−1.0352 | |
| 130 Totality near Guadeloupe |
February 26, 1998 Total |
0.2391 | 135 | August 22, 1998 Annular |
−0.2644 | |
| 140 | February 16, 1999 Annular |
−0.4726 | 145 Totality in France |
August 11, 1999 Total |
0.5062 | |
| 150 | February 5, 2000 Partial |
−1.2233 | 155 | July 31, 2000 Partial |
1.2166 | |
Saros 130
editThis eclipse is a part of Saros series 130, repeating every 18 years, 11 days, and containing 73 events. The series started with a partial solar eclipse on August 20, 1096. It contains total eclipses from April 5, 1475 through July 18, 2232. There are no annular or hybrid eclipses in this set. The series ends at member 73 as a partial eclipse on October 25, 2394. 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 totality was produced by member 30 at 6 minutes, 41 seconds on July 11, 1619. All eclipses in this series occur at the Moon’s descending node of orbit.[8]
| Series members 41–62 occur between 1801 and 2200: | ||
|---|---|---|
| 41 | 42 | 43 |
| November 9, 1817 |
November 20, 1835 |
November 30, 1853 |
| 44 | 45 | 46 |
| December 12, 1871 |
December 22, 1889 |
January 3, 1908 |
| 47 | 48 | 49 |
| January 14, 1926 |
January 25, 1944 |
February 5, 1962 |
| 50 | 51 | 52 |
| February 16, 1980 |
February 26, 1998 |
March 9, 2016 |
| 53 | 54 | 55 |
| March 20, 2034 |
March 30, 2052 |
April 11, 2070 |
| 56 | 57 | 58 |
| April 21, 2088 |
May 3, 2106 |
May 14, 2124 |
| 59 | 60 | 61 |
| May 25, 2142 |
June 4, 2160 |
June 16, 2178 |
| 62 | ||
| June 26, 2196 | ||
Metonic series
editThe 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). All eclipses in this table occur at the Moon's descending node.
| 21 eclipse events between July 22, 1971 and July 22, 2047 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| July 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 | ||||
Tritos series
editThis eclipse is a part of a tritos cycle, repeating at alternating nodes every 135 synodic months (≈ 3986.63 days, or 11 years minus 1 month). Their appearance and longitude are irregular due to a lack of synchronization with the anomalistic month (period of perigee), but groupings of 3 tritos cycles (≈ 33 years minus 3 months) come close (≈ 434.044 anomalistic months), so eclipses are similar in these groupings.
| Series members between 1801 and 2200 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| September 8, 1801 (Saros 112) |
August 7, 1812 (Saros 113) |
July 8, 1823 (Saros 114) |
June 7, 1834 (Saros 115) |
May 6, 1845 (Saros 116) |
| April 5, 1856 (Saros 117) |
March 6, 1867 (Saros 118) |
February 2, 1878 (Saros 119) |
January 1, 1889 (Saros 120) |
December 3, 1899 (Saros 121) |
| November 2, 1910 (Saros 122) |
October 1, 1921 (Saros 123) |
August 31, 1932 (Saros 124) |
August 1, 1943 (Saros 125) |
June 30, 1954 (Saros 126) |
| May 30, 1965 (Saros 127) |
April 29, 1976 (Saros 128) |
March 29, 1987 (Saros 129) |
February 26, 1998 (Saros 130) |
January 26, 2009 (Saros 131) |
| December 26, 2019 (Saros 132) |
November 25, 2030 (Saros 133) |
October 25, 2041 (Saros 134) |
September 22, 2052 (Saros 135) |
August 24, 2063 (Saros 136) |
| July 24, 2074 (Saros 137) |
June 22, 2085 (Saros 138) |
May 22, 2096 (Saros 139) |
April 23, 2107 (Saros 140) |
March 22, 2118 (Saros 141) |
| February 18, 2129 (Saros 142) |
January 20, 2140 (Saros 143) |
December 19, 2150 (Saros 144) |
November 17, 2161 (Saros 145) |
October 17, 2172 (Saros 146) |
| September 16, 2183 (Saros 147) |
August 16, 2194 (Saros 148) | |||
Inex series
editThis eclipse is a part of the long period inex cycle, repeating at alternating nodes, every 358 synodic months (≈ 10,571.95 days, or 29 years minus 20 days). Their appearance and longitude are irregular due to a lack of synchronization with the anomalistic month (period of perigee). However, groupings of 3 inex cycles (≈ 87 years minus 2 months) comes close (≈ 1,151.02 anomalistic months), so eclipses are similar in these groupings.
| Series members between 1801 and 2200 | ||
|---|---|---|
| June 26, 1824 (Saros 124) |
June 6, 1853 (Saros 125) |
May 17, 1882 (Saros 126) |
| April 28, 1911 (Saros 127) |
April 7, 1940 (Saros 128) |
March 18, 1969 (Saros 129) |
| February 26, 1998 (Saros 130) |
February 6, 2027 (Saros 131) |
January 16, 2056 (Saros 132) |
| December 27, 2084 (Saros 133) |
December 8, 2113 (Saros 134) |
November 17, 2142 (Saros 135) |
| October 29, 2171 (Saros 136) |
October 9, 2200 (Saros 137) |
|
Notes
edit- ^ "February 26, 1998 Total Solar Eclipse". timeanddate. Retrieved 10 August 2024.
- ^ "Moon Distances for London, United Kingdom, England". timeanddate. Retrieved 10 August 2024.
- ^ a b "Scientific Experiments at the 1998 Eclipse: The Williams College Expedition". Williams College. Archived from the original on 26 October 2016.
- ^ Fred Espenak. "Report on the Total Solar Eclipse of 1998 Feb 26". Archived from the original on 16 February 2014.
- ^ Paul Maley. "The Caribbean Total Solar Eclipse of 26 February 1998: A Great Success!". Eclipse Tours. Archived from the original on 22 January 2016.
- ^ "Total Solar Eclipse of 1998 Feb 26". EclipseWise.com. Retrieved 10 August 2024.
- ^ 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.
- ^ "NASA - Catalog of Solar Eclipses of Saros 130". eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov.
References
edit- Earth visibility chart and eclipse statistics Eclipse Predictions by Fred Espenak, NASA/GSFC
External links
editSites and Photos
edit- Venezuela. Prof. Druckmüller's eclipse photography site
- Aruba. Prof. Druckmüller's eclipse photography site
- Solar Corona Shape
- [1] APOD 3/11/1998, A Total Eclipse of the Sun, totality from Venezuela.
- [2] APOD 3/12/1998, Moon Shadow satellite animation, 2/1998.
- The 1998 Eclipse in Venezuela