I can't help but feel a little jealous of people in other parts of the world; places where you can see a total eclipse of the sun. In the wee hours (our time) of Wednesday March 29th, people across an area stretching from the east coast of Brazil, across the Atlantic and into Northern Africa, Turkey and Mongolia will witness this rare event. It is such a magical moment that many people become "eclipse chasers" -going all over the world to see eclipses wherever and whenever they happen.
A total eclipse of the sun happens when the moon lines up exactly in front of the sun. For one, two or three minutes -and in this case up to four, the moon is placed in just the right spot for people to see the "totality" where only the sun's bright corona (outer atmosphere) is visible.
Sometimes an eclipse happens when the moon is a little closer in its orbit around earth and we end up with an "Annular" eclipse instead. An annular eclipse covers all but the sun's outside edge. Look at an annular eclipse directly and you will suffer eye damage. With a total eclipse the time spent in "totality" can be seen with the naked eye, but it shouldn't be done unless you know exactly what you are doing. In other words please don't EVER look directly at the sun unless you are an astronomer who knows exactly when it is safe to do so.
The next total eclipse after this can be seen in the cold extremes of Canada's high arctic in August 2008. As much as I'd like to see it, I think I'll be waiting until 2017 when another cuts across the middle of the U.S.A.
NASA has more great info on this event. Want to find out more? Click here!
Come back here Friday for another interesting event involving our moon.
Eclipse path image courtesy of NASA/Fred Espenak
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