Solar eclipse of July 29, 1878


A total solar eclipse occurred at the Moon's descending node of orbit between Monday, July 29, and Tuesday, July 30, 1878, with a magnitude of 1.0450. 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. Occurring about 2.4 days before perigee, the Moon's apparent diameter was larger.
The path of totality was visible from parts of modern-day eastern Russia, Alaska, western Canada, Washington, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, New Mexico, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, Louisiana, Cuba, Haiti, and the Dominican Republic. A partial solar eclipse was also visible for parts of Northeast Asia, North America, Central America, the Caribbean, and northern South America.
Newspapers in the United States reported of large migrations from the Midwest towards the path of totality to view the eclipse. Scientists observing from Pikes Peak in Colorado contended with altitude sickness and snowstorms, among other problems.

High-altitude astronomy

The 1878 eclipse was a turning point in modern astronomy, because it was the first time that many of the world's leading astronomers had the opportunity to make their observations from the higher altitudes provided by the Rocky Mountains. After the 1878 eclipse, astronomers began to build observatories at locations well above sea level, including on the sides and summits of mountains, a scientific trend which extended throughout the twentieth century and into the twenty-first.

Eclipse images


Étienne Léopold Trouvelot		-

Eclipse details

Shown below are two tables displaying details about this particular solar eclipse. The first table outlines times at which the Moon's penumbra or umbra attains the specific parameter, and the second table describes various other parameters pertaining to this eclipse.
EventTime
First Penumbral External Contact1878 July 29 at 19:18:31.9 UTC
First Umbral External Contact1878 July 29 at 20:23:40.9 UTC
First Central Line1878 July 29 at 20:24:46.4 UTC
First Umbral Internal Contact1878 July 29 at 20:25:52.4 UTC
Equatorial Conjunction1878 July 29 at 21:23:06.4 UTC
Ecliptic Conjunction1878 July 29 at 21:40:46.5 UTC
Greatest Duration1878 July 29 at 21:46:11.9 UTC
Greatest Eclipse1878 July 29 at 21:47:17.7 UTC
Last Umbral Internal Contact1878 July 29 at 23:08:56.0 UTC
Last Central Line1878 July 29 at 23:10:04.0 UTC
Last Umbral External Contact1878 July 29 at 23:11:11.6 UTC
Last Penumbral External Contact1878 July 30 at 00:16:08.9 UTC

ParameterValue
Eclipse Magnitude1.04495
Eclipse Obscuration1.09192
Gamma0.62323
Sun Right Ascension08h35m50.0s
Sun Declination+18°38'42.9"
Sun Semi-Diameter15'45.4"
Sun Equatorial Horizontal Parallax08.7"
Moon Right Ascension08h36m44.1s
Moon Declination+19°13'31.6"
Moon Semi-Diameter16'15.3"
Moon Equatorial Horizontal Parallax0°59'39.2"
ΔT-4.7 s

Eclipse season

This eclipse is part of an eclipse season, a period, roughly every six months, when eclipses occur. Only two eclipse seasons occur each year, and each season lasts about 35 days and repeats just short of six months later; thus two full eclipse seasons always occur each year. Either two or three eclipses happen each eclipse season. In the sequence below, each eclipse is separated by a fortnight.
July 29
Descending node
August 13
Ascending node
Total solar eclipse
Solar Saros 124		Partial lunar eclipse
Lunar Saros 136

Related eclipses

Eclipses in 1878

Metonic

Tzolkinex

Half-Saros

Tritos

Solar Saros 124

Inex

Triad

Solar eclipses of 1877–1880

The partial solar eclipses on March 15, 1877 and September 7, 1877 occur in the previous lunar year eclipse set, and the partial solar eclipse on December 2, 1880 occurs in the next lunar year eclipse set.