A total

solar eclipse A solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes between Earth and the Sun, thereby obscuring the view of the Sun from a small part of the Earth, totally or partially. Such an alignment occurs during an eclipse season, approximately every six mo ...

occurred at the Moon's descending node of the orbit on February 16, 1980. A

occurs when the

Moon The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite. It is the fifth largest satellite in the Solar System and the largest and most massive relative to its parent planet, with a diameter about one-quarter that of Earth (comparable to the width ...

passes between

Earth Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to harbor life. While large volumes of water can be found throughout the Solar System, only Earth sustains liquid surface water. About 71% of Earth's surf ...

and the

Sun The Sun is the star at the center of the Solar System. It is a nearly perfect ball of hot plasma, heated to incandescence by nuclear fusion reactions in its core. The Sun radiates this energy mainly as light, ultraviolet, and infrared rad ...

, 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 The angular diameter, angular size, apparent diameter, or apparent size is an angular distance describing how large a sphere or circle appears from a given point of view. In the vision sciences, it is called the visual angle, and in optics, it is ...

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. The path of totality crossed central

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

, southern

India India, officially the Republic of India ( Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the ...

, and into China at sunset. The southern part of

Mount Kilimanjaro Mount Kilimanjaro () is a dormant volcano in Tanzania. It has three volcanic cones: Kibo, Mawenzi, and Shira. It is the highest mountain in Africa and the highest free-standing mountain above sea level in the world: above sea level and ab ...

, the highest mountain in Africa, also lies in the path of totality. Occurring only about 24 hours before perigee (Perigee on February 17, 1980), the Moon's apparent diameter was larger. This was a Supermoon Total Solar Eclipse because the Moon was just a day before perigee. All of Somalia witness the totality of the solar eclipse.

Related eclipses

Eclipses in 1980

* A total solar eclipse on Saturday, 16 February 1980. * A penumbral lunar eclipse on Saturday, 1 March 1980. * A penumbral lunar eclipse on Sunday, 27 July 1980. * An annular solar eclipse on Sunday, 10 August 1980. * A penumbral lunar eclipse on Tuesday, 26 August 1980.

Solar eclipses of 1979–1982

Saros 130

Tritos series

Metonic series

Notes

References

Foto Solar eclipse of February 16, 1980

{{DEFAULTSORT:Solar Eclipse Of February 16, 1980 1980 02 16 1980 in science 1980 02 16 February 1980 events 1980 in Zaire 1980 in Tanzania 1980 in Kenya 1980 in India 1980 in Bangladesh 1980 in China 1980 in Burma