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August 22, 1979 Annular 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: South/West South America, Pacific, Atlantic, Antarctica.

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 50.2 seconds.

Eclipse Stages WorldwideUTC TimeLocal Time in Washington DC*
First location to see the partial eclipse beginAug 22 at 14:55:06Aug 22 at 10:55:06 am
First location to see the full eclipse beginAug 22 at 16:42:29Aug 22 at 12:42:29 pm
Maximum EclipseAug 22 at 17:21:47Aug 22 at 1:21:47 pm
Last location to see the full eclipse endAug 22 at 18:00:46Aug 22 at 2:00:46 pm
Last location to see the partial eclipse endAug 22 at 19:48:17Aug 22 at 3:48:17 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 Annular Solar Eclipse will be on Aug 10, 1980

Eclipse calculations usually accurate to a few seconds

Countries Where the Eclipse Is Visible

CountryTypeStart of EclipseEnd of Eclipse
Antarctica
Annular Solar Eclipse
1:21 pm 4:43 pm
Argentina
Partial Solar Eclipse
12:35 pm CLT4:40 pm ART
Bolivia
Partial Solar Eclipse
1:25 pm BOT2:38 pm CLT
Brazil
Partial Solar Eclipse
2:47 pm ART4:25 pm BRT
Chile
Partial Solar Eclipse
8:05 am EAST3:38 pm CLT
Falkland Islands
Partial Solar Eclipse
12:59 pm FKT3:44 pm FKT
French Polynesia
Partial Solar Eclipse
6:19 am GAMT7:02 am TAHT
Paraguay
Partial Solar Eclipse
2:59 pm ART3:54 pm ART
Pitcairn Islands
Partial Solar Eclipse
6:25 am 8:52 am
South Georgia/Sandwich Is.
Partial Solar Eclipse
3:33 pm GST5:34 pm GST
Uruguay
Partial Solar Eclipse
3:30 pm UYST5:29 pm UYST

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 eclipse35,600,0000.82%
At least 10% partial22,800,0000.52%
At least 20% partial9,070,0000.21%
At least 30% partial2,790,0000.06%
At least 40% partial692,0000.02%
At least 50% partial224,0000.005%
At least 60% partial118,0000.002%
At least 70% partial--
At least 80% partial--
Totality or annularity--

* 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: September 6, 1979 — Total Lunar Eclipse