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Credit: Fred Bruenjes
(moonglow.net)
Explanation:
Friday's solar eclipse
will be a rare hybrid - briefly
appearing as
either an annular eclipse or a total eclipse
when viewed from along the narrow track of the
Moon's shadow.
Unfortunately that track, never more than about 30 kilometers wide,
lies
mostly across the Pacific Ocean, beginning south of New Zealand
and just ending in Venezuela.
Skywatchers along the beginning and end of the shadow
track will see an annular eclipse of the Sun, with the Moon's
silhouette briefly surrounded by a bright
ring of fire, while
observers along the middle of the track will witness a
total eclipse phase.
But the good news is that
over a much broader region of the globe, including New Zealand
and much of South and North America, a partial eclipse can be seen
as the Moon appears to take a
bite out of the Sun.
If you want to
view the eclipse, take care to do it
safely,
and check the times for your
specific location.
So, what location is this solar eclipse view from?
The picture above
was recorded in November of 2003 from within the
track of the Moon's shadow across Antarctica, of course.
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NASA Official: Jay Norris. Specific rights apply.
A service of: LHEA at NASA / GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
Based on Astronomy Picture
Of the Day