Path of the Total Solar Eclipse of -1978 Oct 16

Fred Espenak

Introduction

The following table delineates the path of the Moon's umbral shadow during the Total Solar Eclipse of -1978 Oct 16 . The geographic coordinates (WGS 84) of the northern and southern limits and the central line are listed at 120-second intervals. This provides adequate detail for making plots of the path on larger scale maps. Local circumstances on the central line include the ratio of the apparent diameters of the Moon to the Sun, the Sun's altitude and azimuth (degrees), the path width (kilometers) and the duration on the central line (minutes and seconds). See the Explanation of the Central Eclipse Path Table for a description of each column in the table.

The geographic visibility of the eclipse is shown on a global map on the Prime Page for the Eclipse which also includes complete details on the eclipse. The path of the eclipse is displayed in greater detail on an interactive Google Map .

Total Solar Eclipse of -1978 Oct 16
UT1 Northern Limit Southern Limit Central Line M:S Sun Sun Path Central
Latitude Longitude Latitude Longitude Latitude Longitude Ratio Alt. Azm. Width Duration
Limits61°17.4'N173°22.5'W61°04.7'N173°21.9'W61°11.0'N173°22.2'W 1.006 - 23 km 00m20.2s
17:4860°31.5'N162°30.9'W60°01.2'N160°26.7'W60°16.5'N161°26.1'W 1.008 106° 30 km 00m27.7s
17:5058°58.7'N151°08.3'W58°27.1'N150°10.3'W58°42.9'N150°38.6'W 1.009 12° 116° 37 km 00m35.6s
17:5257°40.2'N144°35.7'W57°07.4'N143°58.4'W57°23.8'N144°16.6'W 1.011 16° 122° 41 km 00m41.1s
17:5456°28.0'N139°45.5'W55°54.4'N139°20.4'W56°11.2'N139°32.6'W 1.012 19° 126° 44 km 00m45.5s
17:5655°20.1'N135°52.5'W54°45.9'N135°36.1'W55°03.0'N135°44.1'W 1.012 21° 130° 47 km 00m49.4s
17:5854°15.3'N132°37.3'W53°40.7'N132°27.5'W53°58.0'N132°32.2'W 1.013 24° 133° 49 km 00m53.0s
18:0053°13.1'N129°49.0'W52°38.2'N129°44.6'W52°55.6'N129°46.6'W 1.014 26° 136° 51 km 00m56.3s
18:0252°13.0'N127°21.3'W51°38.0'N127°21.2'W51°55.5'N127°21.1'W 1.014 28° 139° 53 km 00m59.3s
18:0451°14.9'N125°09.6'W50°39.8'N125°13.3'W50°57.3'N125°11.3'W 1.015 30° 141° 55 km 01m02.1s
18:0650°18.4'N123°10.9'W49°43.2'N123°17.8'W50°00.8'N123°14.2'W 1.015 31° 144° 57 km 01m04.8s
18:0849°23.4'N121°22.9'W48°48.2'N121°32.7'W49°05.8'N121°27.7'W 1.016 33° 146° 58 km 01m07.4s
18:1048°29.8'N119°44.0'W47°54.6'N119°56.2'W48°12.2'N119°50.0'W 1.016 34° 148° 60 km 01m09.8s
18:1247°37.4'N118°12.8'W47°02.2'N118°27.2'W47°19.8'N118°19.9'W 1.016 36° 150° 61 km 01m12.1s
18:1446°46.1'N116°48.2'W46°11.0'N117°04.5'W46°28.5'N116°56.3'W 1.017 37° 152° 62 km 01m14.3s
18:1645°55.8'N115°29.3'W45°20.8'N115°47.4'W45°38.3'N115°38.3'W 1.017 39° 153° 63 km 01m16.4s
18:1845°06.5'N114°15.5'W44°31.6'N114°35.2'W44°49.0'N114°25.3'W 1.017 40° 155° 65 km 01m18.4s
18:2044°18.1'N113°06.2'W43°43.3'N113°27.3'W44°00.6'N113°16.7'W 1.018 41° 157° 66 km 01m20.4s
18:2243°30.5'N112°00.8'W42°55.8'N112°23.2'W43°13.1'N112°11.9'W 1.018 42° 159° 67 km 01m22.2s
18:2442°43.6'N110°58.9'W42°09.1'N111°22.5'W42°26.3'N111°10.7'W 1.018 43° 161° 68 km 01m24.0s
18:2641°57.6'N110°00.2'W41°23.1'N110°24.9'W41°40.3'N110°12.5'W 1.018 44° 162° 69 km 01m25.7s
18:2841°12.1'N109°04.3'W40°37.8'N109°30.1'W40°55.0'N109°17.2'W 1.019 45° 164° 70 km 01m27.3s
18:3040°27.4'N108°11.1'W39°53.2'N108°37.8'W40°10.3'N108°24.4'W 1.019 46° 166° 70 km 01m28.8s
18:3239°43.2'N107°20.1'W39°09.2'N107°47.7'W39°26.2'N107°33.9'W 1.019 47° 168° 71 km 01m30.3s
18:3438°59.7'N106°31.3'W38°25.8'N106°59.6'W38°42.7'N106°45.4'W 1.019 48° 169° 72 km 01m31.7s
18:3638°16.7'N105°44.4'W37°42.9'N106°13.5'W37°59.7'N105°58.9'W 1.019 49° 171° 73 km 01m33.0s
18:3837°34.2'N104°59.2'W37°00.5'N105°29.0'W37°17.3'N105°14.1'W 1.020 50° 173° 74 km 01m34.3s
18:4036°52.2'N104°15.7'W36°18.7'N104°46.1'W36°35.4'N104°30.9'W 1.020 51° 175° 74 km 01m35.5s
18:4236°10.7'N103°33.6'W35°37.3'N104°04.6'W35°54.0'N103°49.1'W 1.020 51° 177° 75 km 01m36.6s
18:4435°29.6'N102°52.9'W34°56.4'N103°24.4'W35°13.0'N103°08.6'W 1.020 52° 178° 76 km 01m37.7s
18:4634°49.0'N102°13.3'W34°15.9'N102°45.4'W34°32.4'N102°29.3'W 1.020 53° 180° 76 km 01m38.7s
18:4834°08.8'N101°34.9'W33°35.8'N102°07.5'W33°52.3'N101°51.2'W 1.020 54° 182° 77 km 01m39.7s
18:5033°29.0'N100°57.5'W32°56.1'N101°30.5'W33°12.6'N101°14.0'W 1.020 54° 184° 78 km 01m40.6s
18:5232°49.6'N100°21.1'W32°16.9'N100°54.5'W32°33.2'N100°37.8'W 1.021 55° 186° 78 km 01m41.4s
18:5432°10.5'N099°45.5'W31°37.9'N100°19.2'W31°54.2'N100°02.4'W 1.021 55° 188° 79 km 01m42.2s
18:5631°31.8'N099°10.6'W30°59.4'N099°44.8'W31°15.6'N099°27.7'W 1.021 56° 190° 80 km 01m42.9s
18:5830°53.4'N098°36.5'W30°21.1'N099°11.0'W30°37.3'N098°53.7'W 1.021 56° 192° 80 km 01m43.6s
19:0030°15.4'N098°03.0'W29°43.2'N098°37.8'W29°59.3'N098°20.4'W 1.021 57° 194° 81 km 01m44.2s
19:0229°37.7'N097°30.0'W29°05.6'N098°05.1'W29°21.7'N097°47.6'W 1.021 57° 196° 81 km 01m44.7s
19:0429°00.3'N096°57.6'W28°28.3'N097°33.0'W28°44.3'N097°15.3'W 1.021 57° 199° 82 km 01m45.2s
19:0628°23.2'N096°25.6'W27°51.3'N097°01.2'W28°07.2'N096°43.4'W 1.021 58° 201° 82 km 01m45.6s
19:0827°46.4'N095°54.0'W27°14.6'N096°29.9'W27°30.5'N096°11.9'W 1.021 58° 203° 83 km 01m46.0s
19:1027°09.8'N095°22.8'W26°38.2'N095°58.8'W26°54.0'N095°40.8'W 1.021 58° 205° 83 km 01m46.3s
19:1226°33.5'N094°51.8'W26°02.0'N095°28.1'W26°17.7'N095°09.9'W 1.021 58° 207° 83 km 01m46.6s
19:1425°57.5'N094°21.1'W25°26.0'N094°57.5'W25°41.8'N094°39.3'W 1.021 58° 209° 84 km 01m46.8s
19:1625°21.7'N093°50.5'W24°50.4'N094°27.2'W25°06.0'N094°08.9'W 1.021 58° 212° 84 km 01m46.9s
19:1824°46.2'N093°20.2'W24°14.9'N093°57.0'W24°30.6'N093°38.6'W 1.021 58° 214° 84 km 01m47.0s
19:2024°10.9'N092°49.9'W23°39.7'N093°26.8'W23°55.3'N093°08.4'W 1.021 58° 216° 85 km 01m47.0s
19:2223°35.8'N092°19.7'W23°04.8'N092°56.7'W23°20.3'N092°38.2'W 1.021 58° 218° 85 km 01m47.0s
19:2423°01.0'N091°49.4'W22°30.0'N092°26.6'W22°45.5'N092°08.0'W 1.021 58° 220° 85 km 01m46.9s
19:2622°26.3'N091°19.2'W21°55.5'N091°56.5'W22°10.9'N091°37.9'W 1.021 58° 222° 86 km 01m46.7s
19:2821°51.9'N090°48.9'W21°21.1'N091°26.3'W21°36.5'N091°07.6'W 1.021 58° 224° 86 km 01m46.5s
19:3021°17.7'N090°18.4'W20°47.0'N090°56.0'W21°02.4'N090°37.2'W 1.021 57° 226° 86 km 01m46.2s
19:3220°43.7'N089°47.8'W20°13.1'N090°25.4'W20°28.4'N090°06.6'W 1.021 57° 228° 86 km 01m45.9s
19:3420°09.8'N089°17.0'W19°39.4'N089°54.7'W19°54.6'N089°35.9'W 1.021 57° 230° 86 km 01m45.5s
19:3619°36.2'N088°46.0'W19°05.8'N089°23.7'W19°21.0'N089°04.8'W 1.021 56° 232° 87 km 01m45.0s
19:3819°02.8'N088°14.6'W18°32.5'N088°52.4'W18°47.6'N088°33.5'W 1.021 56° 234° 87 km 01m44.5s
19:4018°29.5'N087°42.9'W17°59.3'N088°20.7'W18°14.4'N088°01.8'W 1.021 55° 236° 87 km 01m43.9s
19:4217°56.4'N087°10.7'W17°26.3'N087°48.6'W17°41.4'N087°29.7'W 1.021 55° 238° 87 km 01m43.3s
19:4417°23.5'N086°38.2'W16°53.5'N087°16.0'W17°08.5'N086°57.1'W 1.021 54° 239° 87 km 01m42.6s
19:4616°50.8'N086°05.1'W16°20.9'N086°43.0'W16°35.9'N086°24.0'W 1.021 54° 241° 87 km 01m41.8s
19:4816°18.2'N085°31.4'W15°48.4'N086°09.3'W16°03.4'N085°50.4'W 1.021 53° 243° 86 km 01m41.0s
19:5015°45.8'N084°57.1'W15°16.2'N085°35.0'W15°31.0'N085°16.1'W 1.020 52° 244° 86 km 01m40.1s
19:5215°13.6'N084°22.2'W14°44.0'N085°00.0'W14°58.8'N084°41.1'W 1.020 52° 246° 86 km 01m39.1s
19:5414°41.5'N083°46.4'W14°12.1'N084°24.3'W14°26.8'N084°05.4'W 1.020 51° 247° 86 km 01m38.1s
19:5614°09.6'N083°09.9'W13°40.3'N083°47.7'W13°55.0'N083°28.8'W 1.020 50° 248° 85 km 01m37.0s
19:5813°37.8'N082°32.4'W13°08.7'N083°10.2'W13°23.3'N082°51.3'W 1.020 49° 250° 85 km 01m35.9s
20:0013°06.2'N081°53.9'W12°37.3'N082°31.7'W12°51.8'N082°12.8'W 1.020 48° 251° 85 km 01m34.6s
20:0212°34.8'N081°14.3'W12°06.0'N081°52.1'W12°20.4'N081°33.2'W 1.020 47° 252° 84 km 01m33.3s
20:0412°03.5'N080°33.5'W11°34.9'N081°11.3'W11°49.3'N080°52.4'W 1.019 47° 253° 83 km 01m32.0s
20:0611°32.4'N079°51.4'W11°04.0'N080°29.1'W11°18.2'N080°10.3'W 1.019 46° 254° 83 km 01m30.5s
20:0811°01.5'N079°07.9'W10°33.2'N079°45.6'W10°47.4'N079°26.8'W 1.019 44° 255° 82 km 01m29.0s
20:1010°30.7'N078°22.8'W10°02.6'N079°00.4'W10°16.7'N078°41.6'W 1.019 43° 256° 81 km 01m27.4s
20:1210°00.1'N077°36.0'W09°32.2'N078°13.5'W09°46.2'N077°54.8'W 1.019 42° 257° 80 km 01m25.7s
20:1409°29.6'N076°47.2'W09°02.0'N077°24.8'W09°15.9'N077°06.0'W 1.018 41° 258° 79 km 01m23.9s
20:1608°59.4'N075°56.3'W08°32.0'N076°33.8'W08°45.7'N076°15.1'W 1.018 40° 259° 78 km 01m22.1s
20:1808°29.3'N075°03.1'W08°02.2'N075°40.6'W08°15.8'N075°21.8'W 1.018 39° 260° 77 km 01m20.1s
20:2007°59.4'N074°07.2'W07°32.6'N074°44.7'W07°46.1'N074°25.9'W 1.017 37° 261° 75 km 01m18.1s
20:2207°29.7'N073°08.3'W07°03.3'N073°45.8'W07°16.6'N073°27.1'W 1.017 36° 261° 74 km 01m16.0s
20:2407°00.3'N072°06.0'W06°34.2'N072°43.6'W06°47.3'N072°24.8'W 1.017 35° 262° 72 km 01m13.7s
20:2606°31.1'N070°59.9'W06°05.3'N071°37.5'W06°18.3'N071°18.7'W 1.016 33° 263° 71 km 01m11.3s
20:2806°02.1'N069°49.3'W05°36.8'N070°27.0'W05°49.5'N070°08.2'W 1.016 31° 263° 69 km 01m08.8s
20:3005°33.4'N068°33.4'W05°08.6'N069°11.4'W05°21.1'N068°52.4'W 1.015 30° 264° 67 km 01m06.2s
20:3205°05.1'N067°11.2'W04°40.8'N067°49.5'W04°53.0'N067°30.4'W 1.015 28° 264° 64 km 01m03.4s
20:3404°37.1'N065°41.4'W04°13.4'N066°20.2'W04°25.4'N066°00.9'W 1.014 26° 265° 62 km 01m00.3s
20:3604°09.6'N064°02.1'W03°46.6'N064°41.5'W03°58.2'N064°21.8'W 1.014 24° 265° 59 km 00m57.1s
20:3803°42.7'N062°10.3'W03°20.5'N062°50.7'W03°31.7'N062°30.6'W 1.013 22° 266° 56 km 00m53.6s
20:4003°16.6'N060°01.4'W02°55.2'N060°43.5'W03°06.0'N060°22.5'W 1.013 19° 266° 53 km 00m49.7s
20:4202°51.7'N057°26.8'W02°31.3'N058°11.8'W02°41.6'N057°49.4'W 1.012 16° 267° 49 km 00m45.2s
20:4402°28.6'N054°07.1'W02°09.5'N054°58.3'W02°19.2'N054°32.9'W 1.011 12° 267° 44 km 00m39.9s
20:4602°10.7'N048°46.5'W01°52.9'N050°02.0'W02°01.9'N049°25.3'W 1.009 267° 36 km 00m32.2s
Limits02°14.0'N042°56.5'W01°59.0'N042°59.3'W02°06.5'N042°58.1'W 1.007 - 27 km 00m23.7s

ΔT = 45875.1 seconds

Greatest Eclipse and Greatest Duration
Event Time
TD
Time
UT1
Latitude Longitude Sun
Altitude
Sun
Azimuth
Path Width Central
Duration
Greatest Eclipse08:01:30.519:16:55.424°49.6'N074°25.0'E 58.3° 212.6° 84.3 km01m46.94s
Greatest Duration08:04:12.119:19:37.024°02.1'N093°14.1'W 58.3° 215.5° 84.7 km01m46.99s

Explanation of Greatest Eclipse and Greatest Duration

Links for the Total Solar Eclipse of -1978 Oct 16

Links to Additional Solar Eclipse Predictions

  • Home - home page of EclipseWise with predictions for both solar and lunar eclipses
  • Solar Eclipses - primary page for solar eclipse predictions
  • Solar Eclipse Links - detailed directory of links

Eclipse Predictions

Predictions for the Total Solar Eclipse of -1978 Oct 16 were generated using the JPL DE406 solar and lunar ephemerides. The lunar coordinates were calculated with respect to the Moon's Center of Mass. Although the predictions are first calculated in Terrestrial Dynamical Time (TD), they are then converted to Universal Time (UT1) as presented here. The parameter ΔT is used to convert between the two times (i.e., UT1 = TD - ΔT). ΔT has a value of 45875.1 seconds for this eclipse. The uncertainty in ΔT is 3636.7 seconds corresponding to a standard error in longitude of the eclipse path of ± 15.19°.

Acknowledgments

All eclipse calculations are by Fred Espenak, and he assumes full responsibility for their accuracy.

Permission is granted to reproduce eclipse data when accompanied by a link to this page and an acknowledgment:

"Eclipse Predictions by Fred Espenak, EclipseWise.com"

The use of diagrams and maps is permitted provided that they are unaltered (except for re-sizing) and the embedded credit line is not removed or covered.