Solar eclipse of August 22, 1998

3°00′S 145°24′E / 3°S 145.4°E / -3; 145.4Max. width of band99 km (62 mi)Times (UTC)Greatest eclipse2:07:11ReferencesSaros135 (38 of 71)Catalog # (SE5000)9504

An annular solar eclipse occurred at the Moon’s ascending node of the orbit on August 22, 1998. 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. Annularity was visible in Indonesia, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands (Bellona Island and Rennell Island) and Vanuatu. Occurring only 5.2 days before apogee (Apogee on August 27, 1998), the Moon’s apparent diameter was 3.6% smaller than average.^{[1] [2] [3]}

Images

Related eclipses

Eclipses of 1998

• A total solar eclipse on February 26.
• A penumbral lunar eclipse on March 13.
• A penumbral lunar eclipse on August 8.
• An annular solar eclipse on August 22.
• A penumbral lunar eclipse on September 6.

Solar eclipses 1997–2000

This 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 1997 to 2000

Descending node				Ascending node
Saros	Map	Gamma		Saros	Map	Gamma
120 Chita, Russia	1997 March 09 Total	0.91830		125	1997 September 02 Partial (south)	−1.03521
130 Total eclipse near Guadeloupe	1998 February 26 Total	0.23909		135	1998 August 22 Annular	−0.26441
140	1999 February 16 Annular	−0.47260		145 Totality from France	1999 August 11 Total	0.50623
150	2000 February 05 Partial (south)	−1.22325		155	2000 July 31 Partial (north)	1.21664

Partial solar eclipses on July 1, 2000 and December 25, 2000 occur in the next lunar year eclipse set.

Saros 135

It is a part of Saros cycle 135, repeating every 18 years, 11 days, containing 71 events. The series started with partial solar eclipse on July 5, 1331. It contains annular eclipses from October 21, 1511, through February 24, 2305, hybrid eclipses on March 8, 2323, and March 18, 2341, and total eclipses from March 29, 2359, through May 22, 2449. The series ends at member 71 as a partial eclipse on August 17, 2593. The longest duration of totality will be 2 minutes, 27 seconds on May 12, 2431.

Series members 27–43 occur between 1800 and 2100:
27	28	29
Apr 24, 1800	May 5, 1818	May 15, 1836
30	31	32
May 26, 1854	Jun 6, 1872	Jun 17, 1890
33	34	35
Jun 28, 1908	Jul 9, 1926	Jul 20, 1944
36	37	38
Jul 31, 1962	Aug 10, 1980	Aug 22, 1998
39	40	41
Sep 1, 2016	Sep 12, 2034	Sep 22, 2052
42	43
Oct 4, 2070	Oct 14, 2088

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). All eclipses in this table occur at the Moon's ascending node.

21 eclipse events, progressing from south to north between June 10, 1964, and August 21, 2036
June 10–11	March 27–29	January 15–16	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

Notes

References

• Earth visibility chart and eclipse statistics Eclipse Predictions by Fred Espenak, NASA/GSFC
  • Google interactive map
  • Besselian elements

Photos:

• An Annular Eclipse of the Sun APOD 8/24/1998, from Mersing on the East Coast of Malaysia