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February 26, 1979 Total Solar Eclipse

Was this Total Solar Eclipse visible in Washington DC?

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 some cities where at least part of the total eclipse was visible
Expand for some cities where partial eclipse was visible

Was this eclipse visible in Washington DC?

Eclipse Shadow Path

Portion of Sun covered by the Moon (Eclipse obscuration)

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The dark areas symbolize night and twilight.

3D Eclipse Animation

Portion of Sun covered by the Moon (Eclipse obscuration)

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The dark areas symbolize night and twilight.

Note: The animation follows the eclipse shadow from west to east, its point of view moving around the planet at a greater speed than Earth's rotation. If you don't take into account this rapid change of perspective, it may look like Earth is spinning in the wrong direction.

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.

EventUTC TimeTime 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. They do not mean that the eclipse is necessarily visible there.

Eclipse calculations usually accurate to a few seconds.

Eclipses visible in Washington DC.

Next Total Solar Eclipse will be on Feb 16, 1980.

How Many People Can See This Eclipse?

Number of People Seeing...Number of People*Fraction of World Population
Any part of the eclipse562,000,0007.13%
At least 10% partial466,000,0005.91%
At least 20% partial426,000,0005.40%
At least 30% partial396,000,0005.02%
At least 40% partial328,000,0004.16%
At least 50% partial311,000,0003.94%
At least 60% partial248,000,0003.15%
At least 70% partial160,000,0002.03%
At least 80% partial66,100,0000.84%
At least 90% partial30,100,0000.38%
Totality or annularity6,100,0000.08%

* 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