On this day, March 7, 1970, people flocked to the Atlantic coast of the United States to view a total solar eclipse. [View all]

[mahatmakanejeeves]

I hitchhiked to Virginia Beach to see it. I well recall the day. It ended on a sour note for me, but not for anything related to the eclipse.

Solar eclipse of March 7, 1970



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A total solar eclipse occurred on Saturday, March 7, 1970, visible across most of North America and Central America.

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 across southern Mexico and the Gulf of Mexico, the southeast Atlantic coast of the United States, northeast to the Maritimes of eastern Canada, and northern Miquelon-Langlade in the French overseas collectivity of Saint Pierre and Miquelon.

Greatest eclipse occurred over Mexico at 11:38 am CST, with totality lasting 3 minutes and 28 seconds. Totality over the U.S. lasted up to 3 minutes and 10 seconds. The media declared Perry as the first municipality in Florida to be in the eclipse direct path.

Inclement weather obstructed the viewing from that location and most of the eclipse path through the remainder of the southern states. There will not be an eclipse with a greater duration of totality over the contiguous U.S. until April 8, 2024, a period of 54 years.

Sat Mar 7, 2020: On this day, March 7, 1970, residents of the Atlantic coast were treated to a total solar eclipse.