Solar eclipse of June 24, 1778

A total solar eclipse occurred on June 24, 1778. A solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes between Earth and the Sun, thereby totally or partly obscuring the image of the Sun for a viewer on Earth. A total solar eclipse occurs when the Moon's apparent diameter is larger than the Sun's, blocking all direct sunlight, turning day into darkness. Totality occurs in a narrow path across Earth's surface, with the partial solar eclipse visible over a surrounding region thousands of kilometres wide.

Solar eclipse of June 24, 1778
Map
Type of eclipse
NatureTotal
Gamma0.3127
Magnitude1.0746
Maximum eclipse
Duration352 s (5 min 52 s)
Coordinates41°48′N 55°00′W / 41.8°N 55°W / 41.8; -55
Max. width of band255 km (158 mi)
Times (UTC)
Greatest eclipse15:34:56
References
Saros133 (32 of 72)
Catalog # (SE5000)8985

The total eclipse was visible in a path across Mexico and the southeastern United States and ended across northern Africa.

Observations

edit

This was the first total solar eclipse recorded in the United States. The track passed from Lower California to New England. According to Thomas Jefferson, the eclipse was clouded out in Virginia. General George Rogers Clark and his men observed the eclipse as they passed over the Falls of the Ohio on their way to take Kaskaskia during the Illinois Campaign, regarding it as a good omen.[1] U.S. troops marching south through Georgia in an abortive attempt to invade British East Florida also subsequently recorded the event.[2] This solar eclipse lasted four minutes over the middle Atlantic and New England States.[3]

Saros 133

edit

This eclipse is a part of Saros series 133, repeating every 18 years, 11 days, and containing 72 events. The series started with a partial solar eclipse on July 13, 1219. It contains annular eclipses from November 20, 1435 through January 13, 1526; a hybrid eclipse on January 24, 1544; and total eclipses from February 3, 1562 through June 21, 2373. The series ends at member 72 as a partial eclipse on September 5, 2499. Its eclipses are tabulated in three columns; every third eclipse in the same column is one exeligmos apart, so they all cast shadows over approximately the same parts of the Earth.

The longest duration of annularity was produced by member 25 at 1 minutes, 14 seconds on November 30, 1453, and the longest duration of totality was produced by member 61 at 6 minutes, 50 seconds on August 7, 1850. All eclipses in this series occur at the Moon’s ascending node of orbit.[4]

Series members 34–55 occur between 1801 and 2200:
34 35 36
 
July 17, 1814
 
July 27, 1832
 
August 7, 1850
37 38 39
 
August 18, 1868
 
August 29, 1886
 
September 9, 1904
40 41 42
 
September 21, 1922
 
October 1, 1940
 
October 12, 1958
43 44 45
 
October 23, 1976
 
November 3, 1994
 
November 13, 2012
46 47 48
 
November 25, 2030
 
December 5, 2048
 
December 17, 2066
49 50 51
 
December 27, 2084
 
January 8, 2103
 
January 19, 2121
52 53 54
 
January 30, 2139
 
February 9, 2157
 
February 21, 2175
55
 
March 3, 2193

Notes

edit
  1. ^ James, George Rogers Clark, 117.
  2. ^ Revolutionary War Pension Declaration of Sgt Caleb Johnson, Georgia, December 4, 1832, S.7081, U.S. National Archives and Records Administration
  3. ^ "Solar Eclipse Newsletter, June 2004" (PDF). Retrieved 2013-12-13.
  4. ^ "NASA - Catalog of Solar Eclipses of Saros 133". eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov.

References

edit