Nature Total Magnitude 1.0572 Max. width of band 199 km (124 mi) Start date October 23, 1976 | Gamma -0.327 Duration 286 sec (4 m 46 s) Greatest eclipse 5:13:45 | |
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A total solar eclipse occurred on October 23, 1976. 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. This total solar eclipse began at sunrise in Tanzania near the border with Burundi, with the path of totality passing just north of the large Tanzanian city of Dar es Salaam. It then crossed the Indian Ocean before making landfall in southeastern Australia. The largest city that saw totality was Melbourne. After leaving the Australian mainland, the path of totality left the Earth's surface just north of the north island of New Zealand.
Contents
Solar eclipses of 1975-1978
Each member in a semester series of solar eclipses repeats approximately every 177 days and 4 hours (a semester) at alternating nodes of the Moon's orbit.
Saros 133
Solar Saros 133, repeating every 18 years, 11 days, contains 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, with a hybrid eclipse on January 24, 1544. It has total eclipses from February 3, 1562, through June 21, 2373. The series ends at member 72 as a partial eclipse on September 5, 2499. The longest duration of totality was 6 minutes, 50 seconds on August 7, 1850. The total eclipses of this saros series are getting shorter and farther south with each iteration.
Metonic series
The metonic series repeats eclipses every 19 years (6939.69 days), lasting about 5 cycles. Eclipses occur in nearly the same calendar date. In addition the octon subseries repeats 1/5 of that or every 3.8 years (1387.94 days).