A partial

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 Friday, April 7, 1978. 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 partial solar eclipse occurs in the polar regions of the Earth when the center of the Moon's shadow misses the Earth.

Related eclipses

Eclipses in 1978

* A total lunar eclipse on Friday, 24 March 1978. * A partial solar eclipse on Friday, 7 April 1978. * A total lunar eclipse on Saturday, 16 September 1978. * A partial solar eclipse on Monday, 2 October 1978.

Solar eclipses of 1975–1978

Metonic series

References

External links

1978 4 7 1978 in science 1978 4 7 April 1978 events {{Solar-eclipse-stub