Home   Sun, Moon & Space   Eclipses   March 8–9, 1997 Total Solar Eclipse

March 8–9, 1997 Total Solar Eclipse

This eclipse wasn't visible in Washington DC - 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 Asia, North/West North America, Pacific, Arctic.

Expand for a list of selected cities where at least part of the total eclipse was visible
Expand for a list of selected cities where the partial eclipse was visible

This eclipse wasn't visible in Washington DC - 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 62.4 seconds.

Eclipse Stages WorldwideUTC TimeLocal Time in Washington DC*
First location to see the partial eclipse beginMar 8 at 23:16:37Mar 8 at 6:16:37 pm
First location to see the full eclipse beginMar 9 at 00:41:04Mar 8 at 7:41:04 pm
Maximum EclipseMar 9 at 01:23:49Mar 8 at 8:23:49 pm
Last location to see the full eclipse endMar 9 at 02:06:11Mar 8 at 9:06:11 pm
Last location to see the partial eclipse endMar 9 at 03:30:48Mar 8 at 10:30:48 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 Washington DC.

Upcoming eclipses visible in Washington DC

Next Total Solar Eclipse will be on Feb 26, 1998

Eclipse calculations usually accurate to a few seconds

Countries Where the Eclipse Is Visible

CountryTypeStartEndTotality Duration
China
Total Solar Eclipse
7:16 am CST12:30 pm VLAT31m, 15s
Kazakhstan
Total Solar Eclipse
6:37 am ALMT7:48 am NOVT3m, 47s
Mongolia
Total Solar Eclipse
7:36 am ULAT11:08 am CHOT17m, 31s
Russia
Total Solar Eclipse
8:49 am YAKT3:20 pm ANAT1h, 15m, 43s
Bangladesh
Partial Solar Eclipse
6:03 am BST7:02 am BST---
Bhutan
Partial Solar Eclipse
6:07 am BTT9:06 am CST---
Brunei
Partial Solar Eclipse
7:44 am BNT8:04 am BNT---
Cambodia
Partial Solar Eclipse
6:17 am ICT7:45 am ICT---
Canada
Partial Solar Eclipse
6:24 pm MST6:09 pm AKST---
Guam
Partial Solar Eclipse
10:12 am 11:09 am ---
Hong Kong
Partial Solar Eclipse
7:18 am HKT9:12 am HKT---
India
Partial Solar Eclipse
6:17 am MMT9:15 am CST---
Indonesia
Partial Solar Eclipse
6:41 am WIB7:03 am WIB---
Japan
Partial Solar Eclipse
8:24 am JST11:41 am JST---
Kyrgyzstan
Partial Solar Eclipse
9:02 am CST6:28 am KGT---
Laos
Partial Solar Eclipse
6:16 am ICT8:01 am ICT---
Macau
Partial Solar Eclipse
7:18 am CST9:11 am CST---
Malaysia
Partial Solar Eclipse
7:32 am MYT8:23 am MYT---
Micronesia
Partial Solar Eclipse
10:07 am CHUT10:39 am CHUT---
Myanmar
Partial Solar Eclipse
5:59 am MMT9:10 am CST---
Nepal
Partial Solar Eclipse
6:08 am NPT6:52 am NPT---
North Korea
Partial Solar Eclipse
8:40 am KST11:16 am KST---
Northern Mariana Islands
Partial Solar Eclipse
9:58 am 11:46 am ---
Pakistan
Partial Solar Eclipse
6:09 am PKT6:17 am PKT---
Palau
Partial Solar Eclipse
9:05 am 9:27 am ---
Philippines
Partial Solar Eclipse
7:21 am 9:18 am ---
South Korea
Partial Solar Eclipse
8:35 am KST11:10 am JST---
Taiwan
Partial Solar Eclipse
7:21 am CST9:28 am CST---
Thailand
Partial Solar Eclipse
6:16 am ICT7:55 am ICT---
United States
Partial Solar Eclipse
3:01 pm HST6:29 pm AKST---
Vietnam
Partial Solar Eclipse
6:16 am ICT8:05 am ICT---

All times shown in this table are local time. (Note: more than one time zone is listed.) "Totality duration" gives the time between the start and finish of totality within the entire country (not at one location).

How Many People Can See This Eclipse?

Number of People Seeing...Number of People*Fraction of World Population
Any part of the eclipse1,840,000,00031.27%
At least 10% partial1,670,000,00028.30%
At least 20% partial1,530,000,00025.96%
At least 30% partial1,390,000,00023.64%
At least 40% partial1,180,000,00020.08%
At least 50% partial961,000,00016.28%
At least 60% partial673,000,00011.40%
At least 70% partial408,000,0006.91%
At least 80% partial167,000,0002.84%
At least 90% partial32,400,0000.55%
Totality or annularity1,980,0000.03%

* 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 first eclipse this season.

Second eclipse this season: March 24, 1997 — Partial Lunar Eclipse