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February 26, 1979 Total Solar Eclipse

This eclipse was visible in Washington DC - go to local timings and animation

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: West in Europe, North America, Pacific, Atlantic, 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 was visible in Washington DC - go to local timings and animation

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 49.8 seconds.

Eclipse Stages WorldwideUTC TimeLocal Time in Washington DC*
First location to see the partial eclipse beginFeb 26 at 14:45:13Feb 26 at 9:45:13 am
First location to see the full eclipse beginFeb 26 at 16:07:17Feb 26 at 11:07:17 am
Maximum EclipseFeb 26 at 16:54:16Feb 26 at 11:54:16 am
Last location to see the full eclipse endFeb 26 at 17:40:54Feb 26 at 12:40:54 pm
Last location to see the partial eclipse endFeb 26 at 19:03:04Feb 26 at 2:03:04 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. Please note that the local times for Washington DC are meant as a guideline in case you want to view the eclipse via a live webcam. See the actual times the eclipse is visible in Washington DC.

Upcoming eclipses visible in Washington DC

Next Total Solar Eclipse will be on Feb 16, 1980

Eclipse calculations usually accurate to a few seconds

Countries Where the Eclipse Is Visible

CountryTypeStartEndTotality Duration
Canada
Total Solar Eclipse
7:15 am PST3:24 pm NST1h, 1m, 22s
Greenland
Total Solar Eclipse
12:24 pm AST3:55 pm WGT6m, 8s
United States
Total Solar Eclipse
6:54 am PST1:41 pm EST34m, 9s
Anguilla
Partial Solar Eclipse
1:05 pm AST1:25 pm AST---
Belize
Partial Solar Eclipse
9:17 am CST11:25 am CST---
Bermuda
Partial Solar Eclipse
12:20 pm AST2:30 pm AST---
British Virgin Islands
Partial Solar Eclipse
12:53 pm AST1:33 pm AST---
Cayman Islands
Partial Solar Eclipse
10:36 am EST12:40 pm EST---
Colombia
Partial Solar Eclipse
10:45 am COT12:12 pm COT---
Costa Rica
Partial Solar Eclipse
10:36 am 10:56 am CST---
Cuba
Partial Solar Eclipse
10:26 am CST12:51 pm CST---
Dominican Republic
Partial Solar Eclipse
12:09 pm AST1:47 pm AST---
El Salvador
Partial Solar Eclipse
9:18 am CST11:09 am CST---
Faroe Islands
Partial Solar Eclipse
5:09 pm WET5:43 pm WET---
France
Partial Solar Eclipse
6:36 pm CET6:58 pm CET---
Guatemala
Partial Solar Eclipse
9:13 am CST11:21 am CST---
Guernsey
Partial Solar Eclipse
5:36 pm GMT5:47 pm GMT---
Haiti
Partial Solar Eclipse
11:00 am EST12:47 pm EST---
Honduras
Partial Solar Eclipse
9:19 am CST11:27 am CST---
Iceland
Partial Solar Eclipse
4:55 pm GMT6:41 pm GMT---
Ireland
Partial Solar Eclipse
5:21 pm GMT6:15 pm GMT---
Isle of Man
Partial Solar Eclipse
5:25 pm GMT5:48 pm GMT---
Jamaica
Partial Solar Eclipse
10:46 am EST12:38 pm EST---
Jersey
Partial Solar Eclipse
5:37 pm GMT5:45 pm GMT---
Mexico
Partial Solar Eclipse
6:47 am PST11:36 am CST---
Nicaragua
Partial Solar Eclipse
9:26 am CST11:18 am CST---
Norway
Partial Solar Eclipse
5:55 pm CET6:13 pm CET---
Panama
Partial Solar Eclipse
10:55 am EST11:44 am EST---
Portugal
Partial Solar Eclipse
4:33 pm AZOT5:54 pm AZOT---
Puerto Rico
Partial Solar Eclipse
12:33 pm AST1:37 pm AST---
Saint Pierre and Miquelon
Partial Solar Eclipse
12:35 pm AST2:52 pm AST---
Spain
Partial Solar Eclipse
6:49 pm CET7:21 pm CET---
The Bahamas
Partial Solar Eclipse
10:39 am EST1:04 pm EST---
Turks and Caicos Islands
Partial Solar Eclipse
11:03 am EST12:55 pm EST---
US Minor Outlying Islands
Partial Solar Eclipse
10:58 am EST12:39 pm EST---
US Virgin Islands
Partial Solar Eclipse
12:52 pm AST1:31 pm AST---
United Kingdom
Partial Solar Eclipse
5:14 pm GMT6:18 pm GMT---

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 eclipse316,000,0007.26%
At least 10% partial262,000,0006.02%
At least 20% partial240,000,0005.50%
At least 30% partial223,000,0005.11%
At least 40% partial184,000,0004.23%
At least 50% partial175,000,0004.02%
At least 60% partial140,000,0003.21%
At least 70% partial90,400,0002.07%
At least 80% partial37,200,0000.85%
At least 90% partial16,900,0000.39%
Totality or annularity3,430,0000.08%

* 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 13–14, 1979 — Partial Lunar Eclipse