A total solar eclipse occurred at the Moon's ascending node of orbit on Sunday, March 29, 1987,[1] with a magnitude of 1.0013. It was a hybrid event, with only a fraction of its path as total, and longer sections at the start and end as an annular eclipse. The eclipse lasted a maximum of only 7.57 seconds. 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. An annular solar eclipse occurs when the Moon's apparent diameter is smaller than the Sun's, blocking most of the Sun's light and causing the Sun to look like an annulus (ring). An annular eclipse appears as a partial eclipse over a region of the Earth thousands of kilometres wide. The Moon's apparent diameter was larger because it occurred 4.7 days after perigee (on March 24, 1987, at 19:00 UTC) and 7.8 days before apogee (on April 6, 1987, at 7:40 UTC).[2]
| Solar eclipse of March 29, 1987 | |
|---|---|
 Map | |
| Type of eclipse | |
| Nature | Hybrid |
| Gamma | −0.3053 |
| Magnitude | 1.0013 |
| Maximum eclipse | |
| Duration | 8 s (0 min 8 s) |
| Coordinates | 12°18′S 2°18′W / 12.3°S 2.3°W |
| Max. width of band | 5 km (3.1 mi) |
| Times (UTC) | |
| Greatest eclipse | 12:49:47 |
| References | |
| Saros | 129 (50 of 80) |
| Catalog # (SE5000) | 9480 |
Totality of this eclipse was not visible on any land, while annularity was visible in southern Argentina, Gabon, Equatorial Guinea, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Sudan (part of the path of annularity crossed today's South Sudan), Ethiopia, Djibouti and Somaliland. A partial eclipse was visible for parts of southern and central South America, Antarctica, Africa, and the Middle East.
Eclipse details
editShown 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.[3]
| Event | Time (UTC) |
|---|---|
| First Penumbral External Contact | 1987 March 29 at 10:03:29.8 UTC |
| First Umbral External Contact | 1987 March 29 at 11:05:14.4 UTC |
| First Central Line | 1987 March 29 at 11:05:40.9 UTC |
| Greatest Duration | 1987 March 29 at 11:05:40.9 UTC |
| First Umbral Internal Contact | 1987 March 29 at 11:06:07.5 UTC |
| First Penumbral Internal Contact | 1987 March 29 at 12:14:03.2 UTC |
| Equatorial Conjunction | 1987 March 29 at 12:31:19.9 UTC |
| Ecliptic Conjunction | 1987 March 29 at 12:46:28.0 UTC |
| Greatest Eclipse | 1987 March 29 at 12:49:47.3 UTC |
| Last Penumbral Internal Contact | 1987 March 29 at 13:25:55.5 UTC |
| Last Umbral Internal Contact | 1987 March 29 at 14:33:36.4 UTC |
| Last Central Line | 1987 March 29 at 14:34:05.6 UTC |
| Last Umbral External Contact | 1987 March 29 at 14:34:34.9 UTC |
| Last Penumbral External Contact | 1987 March 29 at 15:36:18.1 UTC |
| Parameter | Value |
|---|---|
| Eclipse Magnitude | 1.00134 |
| Eclipse Obscuration | 1.00267 |
| Gamma | −0.30531 |
| Sun Right Ascension | 00h30m29.5s |
| Sun Declination | +03°17'32.1" |
| Sun Semi-Diameter | 16'01.1" |
| Sun Equatorial Horizontal Parallax | 08.8" |
| Moon Right Ascension | 00h31m03.7s |
| Moon Declination | +03°02'04.7" |
| Moon Semi-Diameter | 15'47.7" |
| Moon Equatorial Horizontal Parallax | 0°57'58.2" |
| ΔT | 55.4 s |
Eclipse season
editThis 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.
| March 29 Ascending node (new moon) |
April 14 Descending node (full moon) |
|---|---|
| Hybrid solar eclipse Solar Saros 129 |
Penumbral lunar eclipse Lunar Saros 141 |
Related eclipses
editEclipses in 1987
edit- A hybrid solar eclipse on March 29.
- A penumbral lunar eclipse on April 14.
- An annular solar eclipse on September 23.
- A penumbral lunar eclipse on October 7.
Metonic
edit- Preceded by: Solar eclipse of June 11, 1983
- Followed by: Solar eclipse of January 15, 1991
Tzolkinex
edit- Preceded by: Solar eclipse of February 16, 1980
- Followed by: Solar eclipse of May 10, 1994
Half-Saros
edit- Preceded by: Lunar eclipse of March 24, 1978
- Followed by: Lunar eclipse of April 4, 1996
Tritos
edit- Preceded by: Solar eclipse of April 29, 1976
- Followed by: Solar eclipse of February 26, 1998
Solar Saros 129
edit- Preceded by: Solar eclipse of March 18, 1969
- Followed by: Solar eclipse of April 8, 2005
Inex
edit- Preceded by: Solar eclipse of April 19, 1958
- Followed by: Solar eclipse of March 9, 2016
Triad
edit- Preceded by: Solar eclipse of May 28, 1900
- Followed by: Solar eclipse of January 27, 2074
Solar eclipses of 1986–1989
editThis eclipse is a member of a semester series. An eclipse 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.[4]
| Solar eclipse series sets from 1986 to 1989 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ascending node | Descending node | |||||
| Saros | Map | Gamma | Saros | Map | Gamma | |
| 119 | April 9, 1986 Partial |
−1.0822 | 124 | October 3, 1986 Hybrid |
0.9931 | |
| 129 | March 29, 1987 Hybrid |
−0.3053 | 134 | September 23, 1987 Annular |
0.2787 | |
| 139 | March 18, 1988 Total |
0.4188 | 144 | September 11, 1988 Annular |
−0.4681 | |
| 149 | March 7, 1989 Partial |
1.0981 | 154 | August 31, 1989 Partial |
−1.1928 | |
Saros 129
editThis eclipse is a part of Saros series 129, repeating every 18 years, 11 days, and containing 80 events. The series started with a partial solar eclipse on October 3, 1103. It contains annular eclipses from May 6, 1464 through March 18, 1969; hybrid eclipses from March 29, 1987 through April 20, 2023; and total eclipses from April 30, 2041 through July 26, 2185. The series ends at member 80 as a partial eclipse on February 21, 2528. Its eclipses are tabulated in three columns; every third eclipse in the same column is one exeligmos apart, so they all cast shadows over approximately the same parts of the Earth.
The longest duration of annularity was produced by member 34 at 5 minutes, 10 seconds on October 4, 1698, and the longest duration of totality will be produced by member 58 at 3 minutes, 43 seconds on June 25, 2131. All eclipses in this series occur at the Moon’s ascending node of orbit.[5]
| Series members 40–61 occur between 1801 and 2200: | ||
|---|---|---|
| 40 | 41 | 42 |
| December 10, 1806 |
December 20, 1824 |
December 31, 1842 |
| 43 | 44 | 45 |
| January 11, 1861 |
January 22, 1879 |
February 1, 1897 |
| 46 | 47 | 48 |
| February 14, 1915 |
February 24, 1933 |
March 7, 1951 |
| 49 | 50 | 51 |
| March 18, 1969 |
March 29, 1987 |
April 8, 2005 |
| 52 | 53 | 54 |
| April 20, 2023 |
April 30, 2041 |
May 11, 2059 |
| 55 | 56 | 57 |
| May 22, 2077 |
June 2, 2095 |
June 13, 2113 |
| 58 | 59 | 60 |
| June 25, 2131 |
July 5, 2149 |
July 16, 2167 |
| 61 | ||
| July 26, 2185 | ||
Metonic series
editThe 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). All eclipses in this table occur at the Moon's ascending node.
| 20 eclipse events between June 10, 1964 and August 21, 2036 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| June 10–11 | March 28–29 | January 14–16 | November 3 | August 21–22 |
| 117 | 119 | 121 | 123 | 125 |
| June 10, 1964 |
March 28, 1968 |
January 16, 1972 |
November 3, 1975 |
August 22, 1979 |
| 127 | 129 | 131 | 133 | 135 |
| June 11, 1983 |
March 29, 1987 |
January 15, 1991 |
November 3, 1994 |
August 22, 1998 |
| 137 | 139 | 141 | 143 | 145 |
| June 10, 2002 |
March 29, 2006 |
January 15, 2010 |
November 3, 2013 |
August 21, 2017 |
| 147 | 149 | 151 | 153 | 155 |
| June 10, 2021 |
March 29, 2025 |
January 14, 2029 |
November 3, 2032 |
August 21, 2036 |
Tritos series
editThis eclipse is a part of a tritos cycle, repeating at alternating nodes every 135 synodic months (≈ 3986.63 days, or 11 years minus 1 month). Their appearance and longitude are irregular due to a lack of synchronization with the anomalistic month (period of perigee), but groupings of 3 tritos cycles (≈ 33 years minus 3 months) come close (≈ 434.044 anomalistic months), so eclipses are similar in these groupings.
| Series members between 1801 and 2200 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| September 8, 1801 (Saros 112) |
August 7, 1812 (Saros 113) |
July 8, 1823 (Saros 114) |
June 7, 1834 (Saros 115) |
May 6, 1845 (Saros 116) |
| April 5, 1856 (Saros 117) |
March 6, 1867 (Saros 118) |
February 2, 1878 (Saros 119) |
January 1, 1889 (Saros 120) |
December 3, 1899 (Saros 121) |
| November 2, 1910 (Saros 122) |
October 1, 1921 (Saros 123) |
August 31, 1932 (Saros 124) |
August 1, 1943 (Saros 125) |
June 30, 1954 (Saros 126) |
| May 30, 1965 (Saros 127) |
April 29, 1976 (Saros 128) |
March 29, 1987 (Saros 129) |
February 26, 1998 (Saros 130) |
January 26, 2009 (Saros 131) |
| December 26, 2019 (Saros 132) |
November 25, 2030 (Saros 133) |
October 25, 2041 (Saros 134) |
September 22, 2052 (Saros 135) |
August 24, 2063 (Saros 136) |
| July 24, 2074 (Saros 137) |
June 22, 2085 (Saros 138) |
May 22, 2096 (Saros 139) |
April 23, 2107 (Saros 140) |
March 22, 2118 (Saros 141) |
| February 18, 2129 (Saros 142) |
January 20, 2140 (Saros 143) |
December 19, 2150 (Saros 144) |
November 17, 2161 (Saros 145) |
October 17, 2172 (Saros 146) |
| September 16, 2183 (Saros 147) |
August 16, 2194 (Saros 148) | |||
Inex series
editThis eclipse is a part of the long period inex cycle, repeating at alternating nodes, every 358 synodic months (≈ 10,571.95 days, or 29 years minus 20 days). Their appearance and longitude are irregular due to a lack of synchronization with the anomalistic month (period of perigee). However, groupings of 3 inex cycles (≈ 87 years minus 2 months) comes close (≈ 1,151.02 anomalistic months), so eclipses are similar in these groupings.
| Series members between 1801 and 2200 | ||
|---|---|---|
| July 27, 1813 (Saros 123) |
July 8, 1842 (Saros 124) |
June 18, 1871 (Saros 125) |
| May 28, 1900 (Saros 126) |
May 9, 1929 (Saros 127) |
April 19, 1958 (Saros 128) |
| March 29, 1987 (Saros 129) |
March 9, 2016 (Saros 130) |
February 16, 2045 (Saros 131) |
| January 27, 2074 (Saros 132) |
January 8, 2103 (Saros 133) |
December 19, 2131 (Saros 134) |
| November 27, 2160 (Saros 135) |
November 8, 2189 (Saros 136) |
|
Notes
edit- ^ "March 29, 1987 Total Solar Eclipse". timeanddate. Retrieved 9 August 2024.
- ^ "Moon Distances for London, United Kingdom, England". timeanddate. Retrieved 9 August 2024.
- ^ "Hybrid Solar Eclipse of 1987 Mar 29". EclipseWise.com. Retrieved 9 August 2024.
- ^ van Gent, R.H. "Solar- and Lunar-Eclipse Predictions from Antiquity to the Present". A Catalogue of Eclipse Cycles. Utrecht University. Retrieved 6 October 2018.
- ^ "NASA - Catalog of Solar Eclipses of Saros 129". eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov.
References
edit- Earth visibility chart and eclipse statistics Eclipse Predictions by Fred Espenak, NASA/GSFC
