An annular eclipse of the Sun occurred on Saturday 2 February, 1878 UT (21 Jan, 1878 Old Style), with maximum eclipse at 08:27 UT. A small annular eclipse covered only 92% of the Sun in a very broad path, 729 km wide at maximum, and lasted 5 minutes and 59 seconds.

The annular eclipse lasted for 5 minutes and 59 seconds. Maximum eclipse was at 08:27:57 UT.

During this eclipse the Sun was 0.541° in apparent diameter, 1.5% larger than average. The Moon was just 3 days before apogee, making it very small. At maximum eclipse it was 0.497° in apparent diameter, which is 6.4% smaller than average; this was not large enough to cover the Sun, which is why this was an annular eclipse. The statistics page has information on the ranges of the sizes of the Sun and Moon, and the Moon data page displays detailed information on the Moon's key dates.

Overview Map

This map sourced from NASA Goddard Space flight Center: GSFC Eclipse Web SiteGSFC Eclipse Web Site
The primary source of all the information on eclipses presented here at Hermit Eclipse. (NASA Goddard Space flight Center)
https://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/eclipse.html
shows the visibility of the annular solar eclipse. It also shows the broader area in which a partial eclipse was seen. (Click on it for the full-sized version.)

Eclipse Season and Saros Series

This eclipse season contains 2 eclipses:

This was the 58th eclipse in solar Saros series 119.The surrounding eclipses in this Saros series are:

This Saros series, solar Saros series 119, is linked to lunar Saros series 112. The nearest partner eclipses in that series are:

Eclipse Parameters

UT Date/time (max) 08:27:57 on 2 Feb UT TDT Date/time (max) 08:27:52 on 2 Feb TDT
Saros Series 119 Number in Series 58
Penumbral Magnitiude Central Magnitiude 0.9191
Gamma -0.9071 Path Width (km) 729
Delta T -1m-5s Error ± 0m00s (95%)
Penumbral Duration Partial Duration
Total Duration 5m59s
Partial Rating Total Rating
Sun Distance 147475427 km (7.9%) Moon Distance 403063 km (92.8%)
Sun Diameter 0.541° Moon Diameter 0.494° - 0.497°
Perigee 14:09 on 20 Jan UT Apogee 06:57 on 5 Feb UT

Note that while all dates and times on this site (except where noted) are in UT, which is within a second of civil time, the dates and times shown in NASA's eclipse listingsGSFC Eclipse Web Site
The primary source of all the information on eclipses presented here at Hermit Eclipse. (NASA Goddard Space flight Center)
https://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/eclipse.html
are in the TDT timescale.

The Sun and Moon distances are shown in km, and as a percentage of their minimum - maximum distances; hence 0% is the closest possible (Earth's perihelion, or the Moon's closest possible perigee) and 100% is the farthest (aphelion, the farthest apogee). The statistics page has information on the ranges of sizes of the Sun and Moon, and the Moon data page displays detailed information on the Moon's key dates.

Data last updated: 2015-06-21 22:11:46 UTC.