Solar eclipse of March 18, 1988
| Solar eclipse of March 18, 1988 | |
|---|---|
 Map | |
| Type of eclipse | |
| Nature | Total |
| Gamma | 0.4188 |
| Magnitude | 1.0464 |
| Maximum eclipse | |
| Duration | 226 sec (3 m 46 s) |
| Coordinates | 20°42′N 140°00′E / 20.7°N 140°E |
| Max. width of band | 169 km (105 mi) |
| Times (UTC) | |
| Greatest eclipse | 1:58:56 |
| References | |
| Saros | 139 (28 of 71) |
| Catalog # (SE5000) | 9482 |
A total solar eclipse occurred on March 18, 1988. 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.
Related eclipses
Solar eclipses of 1986-1989
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.
| Ascending node | Descending node | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saros | Map | Saros | Map | |
| 119 |  April 9, 1986 Partial |
124 |  October 3, 1986 Hybrid | |
| 129 |  March 29, 1987 Hybrid |
134 |  September 23, 1987 Annular | |
| 139 | March 18, 1988 Total |
144 |  September 11, 1988 Annular | |
| 149 |  March 7, 1989 Partial |
154 |  August 31, 1989 Partial | |
Saros 139
It is a part of saros series 139, repeating every 18 years, 11 days, containing 71 events. The series started with partial solar eclipse on May 17, 1501. It contains hybrid eclipses on August 11, 1627 through December 9, 1825 and total eclipses from December 21, 1843 through March 26, 2601. The series ends at member 71 as a partial eclipse on July 3, 2763. Members in the same column are one exeligmos apart and thus occur in the same geographic area.
The solar eclipse of June 13, 2132 will be the longest total solar eclipse since July 11, 1991 at 6 minutes, 55 seconds.
The longest duration of totality will be produced by member 39 at 7 minutes, 29 seconds on July 16, 2186.[1] This is the longest solar eclipse computed between 4000BC and 6000AD.[2]
| Series members 24–39 occur between 1901 and 2100 | ||
|---|---|---|
| 24 | 25 | 26 |
 February 3, 1916 |
 February 14, 1934 |
 February 25, 1952 |
| 27 | 28 | 29 |
 March 7, 1970 |
March 18, 1988 |
 March 29, 2006 |
| 30 | 31 | 32 |
 April 8, 2024 |
 April 20, 2042 |
 April 30, 2060 |
| 33 | 34 | 35 |
 May 11, 2078 |
 May 22, 2096 |
 June 3, 2114 |
| 36 | 37 | 38 |
 June 13, 2132 |
 June 25, 2150 |
 July 5, 2168 |
| 39 | ||
 July 16, 2186 | ||
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).
| 21 eclipse events between August 12, 1942 and August 11, 2018 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| August 10-12 | May 30 | March 18 | January 4-5 | October 23-24 |
| 115 | 117 | 119 | 121 | 123 |
 August 12, 1942 |
 May 30, 1946 |
 March 18, 1950 |
 January 5, 1954 |
 October 23, 1957 |
| 125 | 127 | 129 | 131 | 133 |
 August 11, 1961 |
 May 30, 1965 |
 March 18, 1969 |
 January 4, 1973 |
 October 23, 1976 |
| 135 | 137 | 139 | 141 | 143 |
 August 10, 1980 |
 May 30, 1984 |
March 18, 1988 |
 January 4, 1992 |
 October 24, 1995 |
| 145 | 147 | 149 | 151 | 153 |
 August 11, 1999 |
 May 31, 2003 |
 March 19, 2007 |
 January 4, 2011 |
 October 23, 2014 |
| 155 | ||||
 August 11, 2018 | ||||
References
- ↑ Saros Series Catalog of Solar Eclipses NASA Eclipse Web Site
- ↑ Ten Millennium Catalog of Long Solar Eclipses, -3999 to +6000 (4000 BCE to 6000 CE) Fred Espinak
External links
- Earth visibility chart and eclipse statistics Eclipse Predictions by Fred Espenak, NASA/GSFC
- Foto Solar eclipse of March 18, 1988
Photos:
