Solar eclipse of February 26, 1998

Solar eclipse of February 26, 1998
Total eclipse near Guadeloupe
Map
Type of eclipse
Nature	Total
Gamma	0.2391
Magnitude	1.0441
Maximum eclipse
Duration	249 s (4 min 9 s)
Coordinates	4°42′N 82°42′W / 4.7°N 82.7°W / 4.7; -82.7
Max. width of band	151 km (94 mi)
Times (UTC)
Greatest eclipse	17:29:27
References
Saros	130 (51 of 73)
Catalog # (SE5000)	9503

A total solar eclipse occurred at the Moon's descending node of orbit on Thursday, February 26, 1998, with a magnitude of 1.0441. 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. A total solar eclipse occurs when the Moon's apparent diameter is larger than the Sun's, blocking all direct sunlight, turning day into darkness. Totality occurs in a narrow path across Earth's surface, with the partial solar eclipse visible over a surrounding region thousands of kilometres wide. Totality was visible in the Galápagos Islands, Panama, Colombia, the Paraguaná Peninsula in northwestern Venezuela, all of Aruba, most of Curaçao and the northwestern tip of Bonaire (belonging to Netherlands Antilles which dissolved later), all of Montserrat, Guadeloupe and Antigua and Barbuda.