A total solar eclipse occurred at the Moon's ascending node of orbit on Thursday, March 4, 1802, with a magnitude of 1.0428. 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 day after perigee (on March 3, 1802, at 4:20 UTC), the Moon's apparent diameter was larger.
The path of totality was visible from parts of modern-day Antarctica, Australia, and Vanuatu. A partial solar eclipse was also visible for parts of Antarctica, Australia, Indonesia, and Oceania.
The eclipse was observed by Matthew Flinders aboard HMS Investigator as a 97% partial eclipse.
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.
+March 4, 1802 Solar Eclipse Times Event Time (UTC) First Penumbral External Contact 1802 March 4 at 02:52:19.8 UTC First Umbral External Contact 1802 March 4 at 03:59:05.4 UTC First Central Line 1802 March 4 at 04:00:14.2 UTC First Umbral Internal Contact 1802 March 4 at 04:01:23.4 UTC Equatorial Conjunction 1802 March 4 at 04:35:58.0 UTC Ecliptic Conjunction 1802 March 4 at 05:07:25.2 UTC Greatest Duration 1802 March 4 at 05:12:48.7 UTC Greatest Eclipse 1802 March 4 at 05:14:28.9 UTC Last Umbral Internal Contact 1802 March 4 at 06:27:59.7 UTC Last Central Line 1802 March 4 at 06:29:07.6 UTC Last Umbral External Contact 1802 March 4 at 06:30:14.9 UTC Last Penumbral External Contact 1802 March 4 at 07:36:55.8 UTC
+March 4, 1802 Solar Eclipse Parameters Parameter Value Eclipse Magnitude 1.04283 Eclipse Obscuration 1.08750 Gamma −0.69423 Sun Right Ascension 22h57m10.9s Sun Declination -06°42'08.1" Sun Semi-Diameter 16'07.1" Sun Equatorial Horizontal Parallax 08.9" Moon Right Ascension 22h58m31.2s Moon Declination -07°19'20.7" Moon Semi-Diameter 16'36.4" Moon Equatorial Horizontal Parallax 1°00'56.8" ΔT 12.7 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 March 1802 March 4Ascending node (new moon) March 19Descending node (full moon) Total solar eclipseSolar Saros 117 Partial lunar eclipseLunar Saros 129
Related eclipses Eclipses in 1802 A total solar eclipse on March 4. A partial lunar eclipse on March 19. An annular solar eclipse on August 28. A partial lunar eclipse on September 11.
Metonic Preceded by: Solar eclipse of May 15, 1798 Followed by: Solar eclipse of December 21, 1805
Tzolkinex Preceded by: Solar eclipse of January 21, 1795 Followed by: Solar eclipse of April 14, 1809
Half-Saros Preceded by: Lunar eclipse of February 25, 1793 Followed by: Lunar eclipse of March 10, 1811
Tritos Preceded by: Solar eclipse of April 3, 1791 Followed by: Solar eclipse of February 1, 1813
Solar Saros 117 Preceded by: Solar eclipse of February 20, 1784 Followed by: Solar eclipse of March 14, 1820
Inex Preceded by: Solar eclipse of March 23, 1773 Followed by: Solar eclipse of February 12, 1831
Triad Preceded by: Solar eclipse of May 3, 1715 Followed by: Solar eclipse of January 1, 1889
Solar eclipses of 1801–1805
The partial solar eclipses on April 13, 1801 and October 7, 1801 occur in the previous lunar year eclipse set, and the solar eclipses on January 1, 1805 (partial); June 26, 1805 (partial); and December 21, 1805 (annular) occur in the next lunar year eclipse set.
Solar eclipse series sets from 1801 to 1805 Ascending node Descending node Saros Map Gamma Saros Map Gamma 107 March 14, 1801Partial −1.4434 112 September 8, 1801Partial 1.4657 117 March 4, 1802Total −0.6943 122 August 28, 1802Annular 0.7569 127 February 21, 1803Total −0.0075 132 August 17, 1803Annular −0.0048 137 February 11, 1804Hybrid 0.7053 142 August 5, 1804Total −0.7622 147 January 30, 1805Partial 1.4651 152 July 26, 1805Partial −1.4571
Saros 117
Metonic series All eclipses in this table occur at the Moon's descending node.
24 eclipse events between March 4, 1802 and July 28, 1870March 4December 20–21October 8–9July 27–28May 15–16117119121123125March 4, 1802December 21, 1805October 9, 1809July 27, 1813May 16, 1817127129131133135March 4, 1821December 20, 1824October 9, 1828July 27, 1832May 15, 1836137139141143145March 4, 1840December 21, 1843October 9, 1847July 28, 1851May 16, 1855147149151153March 4, 1859December 21, 1862October 8, 1866July 28, 1870
Tritos series
Inex series
See also List of solar eclipses in the 19th century
References
External links Google interactive maps Solar eclipse data