A total solar eclipse occurred at the Moon's descending node of orbit on Thursday, February 26, 1998, with a magnitude of 1.0441. 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 1.1 days before perigee (on February 27, 1998, at 19:50 UTC), the Moon's apparent diameter was larger.

Totality was visible in the Galápagos Islands, Panama, Colombia, the Paraguaná Peninsula in northwestern Venezuela, all of Aruba, most of Curaçao and the northwestern tip of Bonaire (belonging to Netherlands Antilles which dissolved later), all of Montserrat, Guadeloupe and Antigua and Barbuda. A partial eclipse was visible for parts of Mexico, the southern and eastern United States, Central America, the Caribbean, northern South America, West Africa, and the Iberian Peninsula.

Observations Jay Pasachoff led a team from Williams College, Massachusetts to Aruba and studied the rapid oscillations of the corona and coronal temperature, and also recorded coronal and other solar images in the visible and infrared parts of the spectrum. The team also photographed the corona using the same green filter onboard the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory, providing calibration for the spacecraft. Fred Espenak, an astrophysicist of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center also observed it in Aruba. Clouds gradually gathered at the beginning of the eclipse, and it rained for a while. This was the first precipitation on the island in 6 months. Later, the sky gradually cleared up and totality was successfully seen. The wind speed on the island was often larger than 30 knots.

A team of the Johnson Space Center observed the eclipse in Curaçao. Curaçao got the first precipitation in 4 months on the morning of the eclipse day, but it gradually cleared up afterwards. During the totality, the sky was completely clear. The corona was extending in the east-west direction, and helmet streamers could be seen at the poles of the Sun.

Eclipse timing Places experiencing total eclipse Solar Eclipse of February 26, 1998(Local Times)Country or territory City or placeStart of partial eclipseStart of total eclipseMaximum eclipseEnd of total eclipseEnd of partial eclipseDuration of totality (min:s)Duration of eclipse (hr:min)Maximum magnitude Montería 11:17:10 12:50:12 12:52:11 12:54:11 14:21:48 3:59 3:05 1.019 Sincelejo 11:19:16 12:52:24 12:54:10 12:55:55 14:23:18 3:31 3:04 1.0119 Valledupar 11:26:42 12:59:12 13:01:01 13:02:50 14:28:26 3:38 3:02 1.0142 Maracaibo 12:31:23 14:03:44 14:05:13 14:06:42 15:31:27 2:58 3:00 1.008 Oranjestad 12:38:18 14:09:36 14:11:07 14:12:38 15:35:41 3:02 2:57 1.0092 Willemstad 12:40:38 14:12:02 14:13:08 14:14:13 15:37:02 2:11 2:56 1.0043 Brades 13:03:49 14:29:57 14:31:18 14:32:39 15:49:06 2:42 2:45 1.0089 Basse-Terre 13:04:05 14:30:51 14:31:33 14:32:16 15:49:13 1:25 2:45 1.0023 Pointe-à-Pitre 13:04:50 14:30:56 14:32:06 14:33:16 15:49:34 2:20 2:45 1.0064 St. John's 13:05:05 14:31:12 14:32:13 14:33:13 15:49:40 2:01 2:45 1.0047References:

Places experiencing partial eclipse Solar Eclipse of February 26, 1998(Local Times)Country or territory City or placeStart of partial eclipseMaximum eclipseEnd of partial eclipseDuration of eclipse (hr:min)Maximum coverage Galápagos Islands 09:31:30 11:01:22 12:36:40 3:05 95.70% San José 09:58:55 11:31:50 13:04:20 3:05 82.71% Quito 10:59:21 12:32:19 14:03:09 3:04 77.64% Panama City 11:08:09 12:42:58 14:14:27 3:06 95.05% Bogotá 11:16:45 12:51:02 14:19:38 3:03 85.65% Port-au-Prince 11:42:35 13:12:11 14:34:36 2:52 76.21% Kralendijk 12:42:28 14:14:38 15:38:03 2:56 99.71% Caracas 12:44:12 14:15:49 15:38:24 2:54 91.56% Santo Domingo 12:47:56 14:17:21 15:38:49 2:51 81.24% San Juan 12:56:47 14:25:11 15:44:42 2:48 88.65% Port of Spain 12:59:26 14:27:06 15:44:57 2:46 81.17% Christiansted 12:59:04 14:27:22 15:46:25 2:47 93.93% Cruz Bay 12:59:39 14:27:39 15:46:29 2:47 91.65% St. George's 13:00:00 14:28:01 15:46:10 2:46 86.83% Road Town 13:00:12 14:28:03 15:46:44 2:47 91.63% Spanish Town 13:00:40 14:28:26 15:47:00 2:46 91.90% The Bottom 13:02:21 14:30:01 15:48:13 2:46 96.99% Kingstown 13:02:27 14:30:03 15:47:44 2:45 89.87% Oranjestad 13:02:49 14:30:25 15:48:29 2:46 97.93% Marigot 13:03:18 14:30:39 15:48:35 2:45 95.75% Philipsburg 13:03:20 14:30:42 15:48:37 2:45 95.95% Basseterre 13:03:12 14:30:45 15:48:43 2:46 98.95% The Valley 13:03:32 14:30:48 15:48:39 2:45 95.23% Gustavia 13:03:38 14:30:58 15:48:48 2:45 96.77% Castries 13:03:53 14:31:15 15:48:41 2:45 92.56% Roseau 13:04:11 14:31:37 15:49:11 2:45 97.88% Fort-de-France 13:04:16 14:31:36 15:49:03 2:45 94.89% Codrington 13:05:44 14:32:38 15:49:54 2:44 99.27% Bridgetown 13:06:37 14:32:57 15:49:18 2:43 86.58% Los Llanos de Aridane 18:10:19 19:06:57 19:09:27 (sunset) 0:59 94.56%References:

In popular culture The 2001 Japanese film Orozco the Embalmer briefly featured the total eclipse as seen from Colombia.

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.

+February 26, 1998 Solar Eclipse Times Event Time (UTC) First Penumbral External Contact 1998 February 26 at 14:51:26.2 UTC First Umbral External Contact 1998 February 26 at 15:47:48.6 UTC First Central Line 1998 February 26 at 15:48:32.9 UTC First Umbral Internal Contact 1998 February 26 at 15:49:17.2 UTC First Penumbral Internal Contact 1998 February 26 at 16:48:32.4 UTC Ecliptic Conjunction 1998 February 26 at 17:26:58.5 UTC Greatest Duration 1998 February 26 at 17:28:01.9 UTC Greatest Eclipse 1998 February 26 at 17:29:26.7 UTC Equatorial Conjunction 1998 February 26 at 17:36:39.9 UTC Last Penumbral Internal Contact 1998 February 26 at 18:10:10.1 UTC Last Umbral Internal Contact 1998 February 26 at 19:09:29.1 UTC Last Central Line 1998 February 26 at 19:10:14.8 UTC Last Umbral External Contact 1998 February 26 at 19:11:00.5 UTC Last Penumbral External Contact 1998 February 26 at 20:07:20.7 UTC

+February 26, 1998 Solar Eclipse Parameters Parameter Value Eclipse Magnitude 1.04411 Eclipse Obscuration 1.09017 Gamma 0.23909 Sun Right Ascension 22h38m18.9s Sun Declination -08°36'05.1" Sun Semi-Diameter 16'09.1" Sun Equatorial Horizontal Parallax 08.9" Moon Right Ascension 22h38m02.5s Moon Declination -08°22'08.5" Moon Semi-Diameter 16'35.2" Moon Equatorial Horizontal Parallax 1°00'52.6" ΔT 63.0 s

Eclipse season

This eclipse is part of an eclipse season, a period, roughly every six months, when eclipses occur. Only two (or occasionally three) eclipse seasons occur each year, and each season lasts about 35 days and repeats just short of six months (173 days) 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.

+ Eclipse season of February–March 1998 February 26Descending node (new moon) March 13Ascending node (full moon) Total solar eclipseSolar Saros 130 Penumbral lunar eclipseLunar Saros 142

Related eclipses Eclipses in 1998 A total solar eclipse on February 26. A penumbral lunar eclipse on March 13. A penumbral lunar eclipse on August 8. An annular solar eclipse on August 22. A penumbral lunar eclipse on September 6.

Metonic Preceded by: Solar eclipse of May 10, 1994 Followed by: Solar eclipse of December 14, 2001

Tzolkinex Preceded by: Solar eclipse of January 15, 1991 Followed by: Solar eclipse of April 8, 2005

Half-Saros Preceded by: Lunar eclipse of February 20, 1989 Followed by: Lunar eclipse of March 3, 2007

Tritos Preceded by: Solar eclipse of March 29, 1987 Followed by: Solar eclipse of January 26, 2009

Solar Saros 130 Preceded by: Solar eclipse of February 16, 1980 Followed by: Solar eclipse of March 9, 2016

Inex Preceded by: Solar eclipse of March 18, 1969 Followed by: Solar eclipse of February 6, 2027

Triad Preceded by: Solar eclipse of April 28, 1911 Followed by: Solar eclipse of December 27, 2084

Solar eclipses of 1997–2000

Saros 130

Metonic series

Tritos series

Inex series

Notes

References

External links

Sites and Photos Venezuela. Prof. Druckmüller's eclipse photography site Aruba. Prof. Druckmüller's eclipse photography site Solar Corona Shape APOD 3/11/1998, A Total Eclipse of the Sun, totality from Venezuela. APOD 3/12/1998, Moon Shadow satellite animation, 2/1998. The 1998 Eclipse in Venezuela

Videos Total eclipse, 1998 February 26, Venezuela Aruba Eclipse - February 26, 1998 Maracaibo eclipse solar 1998