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February 26, 1979 Total Solar Eclipse

This eclipse was visible in Toronto - go to local timings and animation

What the Eclipse Looked Like Near the Maximum Point

The animation shows what the eclipse approximately looked like near the maximum point. The curvature of the Moon's path is due to the Earth's rotation.

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Where the Eclipse Was Seen

Try our new interactive eclipse maps. Zoom in and search for accurate eclipse times and visualizations for any location.


Path of the Eclipse Shadow

Regions that saw, at least, a partial eclipse: West in Europe, North America, Pacific, Atlantic, Arctic.

Expand for a list of selected cities where at least part of the total eclipse was visible
Expand for a list of selected cities where the partial eclipse was visible

This eclipse was visible in Toronto - go to local timings and animation

Eclipse Shadow Path

Portion of Sun covered by the Moon (Eclipse obscuration)

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The dark areas symbolize night and twilight.

When the Eclipse Happened Worldwide — Timeline

The eclipse started at one location and ended at another. The times below are actual times (in UTC) when the eclipse occurred. This calculation uses a Delta T value of 49.8 seconds.

Eclipse Stages Worldwide UTC Time Local Time in Toronto*
First location to see the partial eclipse begin Feb 26 at 14:45:13 Feb 26 at 9:45:13 am
First location to see the full eclipse begin Feb 26 at 16:07:17 Feb 26 at 11:07:17 am
Maximum Eclipse Feb 26 at 16:54:16 Feb 26 at 11:54:16 am
Last location to see the full eclipse end Feb 26 at 17:40:54 Feb 26 at 12:40:54 pm
Last location to see the partial eclipse end Feb 26 at 19:03:04 Feb 26 at 2:03:04 pm

* These local times do not refer to a specific location but indicate the beginning, peak, and end of the eclipse on a global scale, each line referring to a different location. Please note that the local times for Toronto are meant as a guideline in case you want to view the eclipse via a live webcam. See the actual times the eclipse is visible in Toronto.

Upcoming eclipses visible in Toronto

Next Total Solar Eclipse will be on Feb 16, 1980

Eclipse calculations usually accurate to a few seconds

Countries Where the Eclipse Is Visible

Country Type Start of Eclipse End of Eclipse
Canada
Total Solar Eclipse
7:15 am PST 3:24 pm NST
Greenland
Total Solar Eclipse
12:24 pm AST 3:55 pm WGT
United States
Total Solar Eclipse
6:54 am PST 1:41 pm EST
Anguilla
Partial Solar Eclipse
1:05 pm AST 1:25 pm AST
Belize
Partial Solar Eclipse
9:17 am CST 11:25 am CST
Bermuda
Partial Solar Eclipse
12:20 pm AST 2:30 pm AST
British Virgin Islands
Partial Solar Eclipse
12:53 pm AST 1:33 pm AST
Cayman Islands
Partial Solar Eclipse
10:36 am EST 12:40 pm EST
Colombia
Partial Solar Eclipse
10:45 am COT 12:12 pm COT
Costa Rica
Partial Solar Eclipse
10:36 am 11:56 am
Cuba
Partial Solar Eclipse
10:26 am CST 12:51 pm CST
Dominican Republic
Partial Solar Eclipse
12:09 pm AST 1:47 pm AST
El Salvador
Partial Solar Eclipse
9:18 am CST 11:09 am CST
Faroe Islands
Partial Solar Eclipse
5:09 pm WET 5:43 pm WET
France
Partial Solar Eclipse
6:36 pm CET 6:58 pm CET
Guatemala
Partial Solar Eclipse
9:13 am CST 11:21 am CST
Guernsey
Partial Solar Eclipse
5:36 pm GMT 5:47 pm GMT
Haiti
Partial Solar Eclipse
11:00 am EST 12:47 pm EST
Honduras
Partial Solar Eclipse
9:19 am CST 11:27 am CST
Iceland
Partial Solar Eclipse
4:55 pm GMT 6:41 pm GMT
Ireland
Partial Solar Eclipse
5:21 pm GMT 6:15 pm GMT
Isle of Man
Partial Solar Eclipse
5:25 pm GMT 5:48 pm GMT
Jamaica
Partial Solar Eclipse
10:46 am EST 12:38 pm EST
Jersey
Partial Solar Eclipse
5:37 pm GMT 5:45 pm GMT
Mexico
Partial Solar Eclipse
7:47 am MST 11:36 am CST
Nicaragua
Partial Solar Eclipse
9:26 am CST 11:18 am CST
Norway
Partial Solar Eclipse
5:55 pm CET 6:13 pm CET
Panama
Partial Solar Eclipse
10:55 am EST 11:44 am EST
Portugal
Partial Solar Eclipse
4:33 pm AZOT 5:54 pm AZOT
Puerto Rico
Partial Solar Eclipse
12:33 pm AST 1:37 pm AST
Saint Pierre and Miquelon
Partial Solar Eclipse
12:35 pm AST 2:52 pm AST
Spain
Partial Solar Eclipse
6:49 pm CET 7:21 pm CET
The Bahamas
Partial Solar Eclipse
10:39 am EST 1:04 pm EST
Turks and Caicos Islands
Partial Solar Eclipse
11:03 am EST 12:55 pm EST
US Minor Outlying Islands
Partial Solar Eclipse
10:58 am EST 12:39 pm EST
US Virgin Islands
Partial Solar Eclipse
12:52 pm AST 1:31 pm AST
United Kingdom
Partial Solar Eclipse
5:14 pm GMT 6:18 pm GMT

All times shown in this table are local time. (Note: more than one time zone is listed.)

How Many People Can See This Eclipse?

Number of People Seeing... Number of People* Fraction of World Population
Any part of the eclipse 316,000,000 7.26%
At least 10% partial 262,000,000 6.02%
At least 20% partial 240,000,000 5.50%
At least 30% partial 223,000,000 5.11%
At least 40% partial 184,000,000 4.23%
At least 50% partial 175,000,000 4.02%
At least 60% partial 140,000,000 3.21%
At least 70% partial 90,400,000 2.07%
At least 80% partial 37,200,000 0.85%
At least 90% partial 16,900,000 0.39%
Totality or annularity 3,430,000 0.08%

* The number of people refers to the resident population (as a round number) in areas where the eclipse is visible. timeanddate has calculated these numbers using raw population data provided by the Center for International Earth Science Information Network (CIESIN) at Columbia University. The raw data is based on population estimates from the year 2000 to 2020.

An Eclipse Never Comes Alone!

A solar eclipse always occurs about two weeks before or after a lunar eclipse.

Usually, there are two eclipses in a row, but other times, there are three during the same eclipse season.

All eclipses 1900 — 2199

This is the first eclipse this season.

Second eclipse this season: March 13–14, 1979 — Partial Lunar Eclipse