Solar eclipse of April 7, 1978 explained

A partial solar eclipse occurred at the Moon's descending node of orbit on Friday, April 7, 1978,[1] with a magnitude of 0.7883. 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 partial solar eclipse occurs in the polar regions of the Earth when the center of the Moon's shadow misses the Earth.

A partial eclipse was visible for parts of Antarctica, southern South America, and Southern Africa.

Eclipse details

Shown 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.[2]

April 7, 1978 Solar Eclipse Times! Event! Time (UTC)
First Penumbral External Contact1978 April 07 at 13:02:42.8 UTC
Equatorial Conjunction1978 April 07 at 14:26:21.8 UTC
Greatest Eclipse1978 April 07 at 15:03:46.6 UTC
Ecliptic Conjunction1978 April 07 at 15:15:57.9 UTC
Last Penumbral External Contact1978 April 07 at 17:05:13.3 UTC
April 7, 1978 Solar Eclipse Parameters! Parameter! Value
Eclipse Magnitude0.78828
Eclipse Obscuration0.72528
Gamma−1.10812
Sun Right Ascension01h04m17.8s
Sun Declination+06°50'43.3"
Sun Semi-Diameter15'58.5"
Sun Equatorial Horizontal Parallax08.8"
Moon Right Ascension01h05m31.3s
Moon Declination+05°50'22.8"
Moon Semi-Diameter15'32.4"
Moon Equatorial Horizontal Parallax0°57'02.1"
ΔT48.8 s

Eclipse season

See also: Eclipse cycle. This 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.

Related eclipses

Eclipses in 1978

Metonic

Tzolkinex

Half-Saros

Tritos

Solar Saros 148

Inex

Triad

Inex series

Notes and References

  1. Web site: April 7, 1978 Partial Solar Eclipse. timeanddate. 8 August 2024.
  2. Web site: Partial Solar Eclipse of 1978 Apr 07. EclipseWise.com. 8 August 2024.