Home   Sun, Moon & Space   Eclipses   February 4–5, 1981 Annular Solar Eclipse

February 4–5, 1981 Annular Solar Eclipse

This eclipse wasn't visible in Columbus - Which upcoming eclipses can be seen in your location?

What the Eclipse Looked Like Near the Maximum Point

The animation shows what the eclipse approximately looked like near the maximum point. The curvature of the Moon's path is due to the Earth's rotation.

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Where the Eclipse Was Seen

Try our new interactive eclipse maps. Zoom in and search for accurate eclipse times and visualizations for any location.


Path of the Eclipse Shadow

Regions that saw, at least, a partial eclipse: Much of Australia, South/West South America, Pacific, Atlantic, Indian Ocean, Antarctica.

Expand for a list of selected cities where the annular eclipse was visible
Expand for a list of selected cities where the partial eclipse was visible

This eclipse wasn't visible in Columbus - Which upcoming eclipses can be seen in your location?

Eclipse Shadow Path

Portion of Sun covered by the Moon (Eclipse obscuration)

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The dark areas symbolize night and twilight.

When the Eclipse Happened Worldwide — Timeline

The eclipse started at one location and ended at another. The times below are actual times (in UTC) when the eclipse occurred. This calculation uses a Delta T value of 51.5 seconds.

Eclipse Stages WorldwideUTC TimeLocal Time in Columbus*
First location to see the partial eclipse beginFeb 4 at 19:27:51Feb 4 at 2:27:51 pm
First location to see the full eclipse beginFeb 4 at 20:32:35Feb 4 at 3:32:35 pm
Maximum EclipseFeb 4 at 22:08:32Feb 4 at 5:08:32 pm
Last location to see the full eclipse endFeb 4 at 23:44:34Feb 4 at 6:44:34 pm
Last location to see the partial eclipse endFeb 5 at 00:49:13Feb 4 at 7:49:13 pm

* These local times do not refer to a specific location but indicate the beginning, peak, and end of the eclipse on a global scale, each line referring to a different location. This eclipse isn't visible in Columbus.

Upcoming eclipses visible in Columbus

Next Annular Solar Eclipse will be on Dec 4, 1983

Eclipse calculations usually accurate to a few seconds

Countries Where the Eclipse Is Visible

CountryTypeStart of EclipseEnd of Eclipse
Australia
Annular Solar Eclipse
6:27 am AEDT9:02 am
New Zealand
Annular Solar Eclipse
8:34 am NZDT12:12 pm CHADT
Antarctica
Partial Solar Eclipse
6:15 am DDUT8:09 pm ART
Argentina
Partial Solar Eclipse
7:08 pm ART9:01 pm CLST
Bolivia
Partial Solar Eclipse
6:38 pm BOT8:16 pm CLST
Brazil
Partial Solar Eclipse
7:29 pm BRT6:21 pm PET
Chile
Partial Solar Eclipse
4:03 pm EASST6:33 pm EASST
Colombia
Partial Solar Eclipse
5:57 pm PET6:38 pm COT
Cook Islands
Partial Solar Eclipse
11:07 am 1:22 pm
Costa Rica
Partial Solar Eclipse
5:18 pm CST5:59 pm CST
Ecuador
Partial Solar Eclipse
5:58 pm PET7:24 pm
El Salvador
Partial Solar Eclipse
5:40 pm CST6:01 pm CST
Falkland Islands
Partial Solar Eclipse
6:13 pm FKT7:33 pm FKT
Fiji
Partial Solar Eclipse
8:45 am TOT9:33 am FJT
French Polynesia
Partial Solar Eclipse
10:51 am TAHT3:09 pm GAMT
Guatemala
Partial Solar Eclipse
5:46 pm CST6:09 pm CST
Honduras
Partial Solar Eclipse
5:38 pm CST5:58 pm CST
Indonesia
Partial Solar Eclipse
5:36 am WIT5:39 am WIT
Mexico
Partial Solar Eclipse
5:58 pm CST6:09 pm CST
New Caledonia
Partial Solar Eclipse
6:36 am NCT8:24 am NCT
Nicaragua
Partial Solar Eclipse
5:28 pm CST5:52 pm CST
Niue
Partial Solar Eclipse
9:24 am NUT10:48 am NUT
Norfolk Island
Partial Solar Eclipse
7:02 am NFT9:08 am NFT
Panama
Partial Solar Eclipse
6:17 pm EST6:39 pm EST
Papua New Guinea
Partial Solar Eclipse
5:50 am PGT6:39 am PGT
Paraguay
Partial Solar Eclipse
7:34 pm ART7:53 pm ART
Peru
Partial Solar Eclipse
5:43 pm PET6:49 pm PET
Pitcairn Islands
Partial Solar Eclipse
1:00 pm 3:54 pm
Solomon Islands
Partial Solar Eclipse
7:02 am SBT7:29 am SBT
South Georgia/Sandwich Is.
Partial Solar Eclipse
8:11 pm GST8:22 pm GST
Tonga
Partial Solar Eclipse
8:58 am TOT10:47 am TOT
Uruguay
Partial Solar Eclipse
7:28 pm UYT7:54 pm UYT
Vanuatu
Partial Solar Eclipse
6:42 am VUT8:15 am VUT

All times shown in this table are local time. (Note: more than one time zone is listed.)

How Many People Can See This Eclipse?

Number of People Seeing...Number of People*Fraction of World Population
Any part of the eclipse99,200,0002.19%
At least 10% partial70,300,0001.55%
At least 20% partial64,500,0001.43%
At least 30% partial49,500,0001.09%
At least 40% partial39,100,0000.86%
At least 50% partial23,500,0000.52%
At least 60% partial17,100,0000.38%
At least 70% partial10,500,0000.23%
At least 80% partial3,530,0000.08%
At least 90% partial406,0000.008%
Totality or annularity92,6000.002%

* The number of people refers to the resident population (as a round number) in areas where the eclipse is visible. timeanddate has calculated these numbers using raw population data provided by the Center for International Earth Science Information Network (CIESIN) at Columbia University. The raw data is based on population estimates from the year 2000 to 2020.

An Eclipse Never Comes Alone!

A solar eclipse always occurs about two weeks before or after a lunar eclipse.

Usually, there are two eclipses in a row, but other times, there are three during the same eclipse season.

All eclipses 1900 — 2199

This is the second eclipse this season.

First eclipse this season: January 20, 1981 — Penumbral Lunar Eclipse