Solar eclipse of March 7, 1989 explained

A partial solar eclipse occurred at the Moon's ascending node of orbit on Tuesday, March 7, 1989,[1] with a magnitude of 0.8268. 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 Hawaii, Alaska, Canada, the western and central United States, northwest Mexico, and Greenland.

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]

March 7, 1989 Solar Eclipse Times! Event! Time (UTC)
First Penumbral External Contact1989 March 07 at 16:17:48.4 UTC
Greatest Eclipse1989 March 07 at 18:08:40.6 UTC
Ecliptic Conjunction1989 March 07 at 18:19:36.5 UTC
Equatorial Conjunction1989 March 07 at 19:09:59.8 UTC
Last Penumbral External Contact1989 March 07 at 19:59:06.7 UTC
March 7, 1989 Solar Eclipse Parameters! Parameter! Value
Eclipse Magnitude0.82679
Eclipse Obscuration0.78906
Gamma1.09815
Sun Right Ascension23h12m43.3s
Sun Declination-05°04'32.2"
Sun Semi-Diameter16'06.8"
Sun Equatorial Horizontal Parallax08.9"
Moon Right Ascension23h10m35.2s
Moon Declination-04°05'29.6"
Moon Semi-Diameter16'41.7"
Moon Equatorial Horizontal Parallax1°01'16.5"
ΔT56.4 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 1989

Metonic

Tzolkinex

Half-Saros

Tritos

Solar Saros 149

Inex

Triad

Inex series

Notes and References

  1. Web site: March 7, 1989 Partial Solar Eclipse. timeanddate. 9 August 2024.
  2. Web site: Partial Solar Eclipse of 1989 Mar 07. EclipseWise.com. 9 August 2024.