| Total eclipse | |
 Map | |
| Gamma | 0.3127 |
|---|---|
| Magnitude | 1.0746 |
| Maximum eclipse | |
| Duration | 352 s (5 min 52 s) |
| Coordinates | 41°48′N55°00′W / 41.8°N 55°W /41.8; -55 |
| Max. width of band | 255 km (158 mi) |
| Times (UTC) | |
| Greatest eclipse | 15:34:56 |
| References | |
| Saros | 133 (32 of 72) |
| Catalog # (SE5000) | 8985 |
A totalsolar eclipse occurred on June 24, 1778. Asolar eclipse occurs when theMoon passes betweenEarth and theSun, thereby totally or partly obscuring the image of the Sun for a viewer on Earth. A total solar eclipse occurs when the Moon'sapparent 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.
The total eclipse was visible in a path acrossNew Spain (some in present-dayMexico) and the southeasternUnited States and ended across northernAfrica.
This was the first total solar eclipse recorded in theUnited States. The track passed from LowerCalifornia toNew England. According toThomas Jefferson, the eclipse was clouded out inVirginia. GeneralGeorge Rogers Clark and his men observed the eclipse as they passed over theFalls of the Ohio on their way to takeKaskaskia during theIllinois Campaign, regarding it as a good omen.[1] U.S. troops marching south through Georgia in an abortive attempt to invade British East Florida also subsequently recorded the event.[2] This solar eclipse lasted four minutes over the middle Atlantic and New England States.[3]
This eclipse is a part ofSaros series 133, repeating every 18 years, 11 days, and containing 72 events. The series started with a partial solar eclipse on July 13, 1219. It contains annular eclipses from November 20, 1435 through January 13, 1526; a hybrid eclipse on January 24, 1544; and total eclipses from February 3, 1562 through June 21, 2373. The series ends at member 72 as a partial eclipse on September 5, 2499. Its eclipses are tabulated in three columns; every third eclipse in the same column is oneexeligmos apart, so they all cast shadows over approximately the same parts of the Earth.
The longest duration of annularity was produced by member 25 at 1 minutes, 14 seconds on November 30, 1453, and the longest duration of totality was produced by member 61 at 6 minutes, 50 seconds on August 7, 1850. All eclipses in this series occur at the Moon’sascending node of orbit.[4]
| Series members 34–55 occur between 1801 and 2200: | ||
|---|---|---|
| 34 | 35 | 36 |
 July 17, 1814 |  July 27, 1832 |  August 7, 1850 |
| 37 | 38 | 39 |
 August 18, 1868 |  August 29, 1886 |  September 9, 1904 |
| 40 | 41 | 42 |
 September 21, 1922 |  October 1, 1940 |  October 12, 1958 |
| 43 | 44 | 45 |
 October 23, 1976 |  November 3, 1994 |  November 13, 2012 |
| 46 | 47 | 48 |
 November 25, 2030 |  December 5, 2048 |  December 17, 2066 |
| 49 | 50 | 51 |
 December 27, 2084 |  January 8, 2103 |  January 19, 2121 |
| 52 | 53 | 54 |
 January 30, 2139 |  February 9, 2157 |  February 21, 2175 |
| 55 | ||
 March 3, 2193 | ||
.jpg)
