Here’s How to Catch Tomorrow’s Rare Solar Eclipse, Backyard Astronomers!
Just don't look directly at it, okay guys? Seriously.
Tomorrow morning there’s going to be a super-rare type of solar eclipse, and – if you’re lucky enough to live in the right places – you can check it out for yourself. Here’s how and where you can catch the solar eclipse on Sunday, November 3rd!
What makes this eclipse so unusual is that it’s both a “total” and “annular” solar eclipse. A total solar eclipse is when the moon moves centrally across the sun, smack-dab in the middle; an annular solar eclipse is when the moon covers the whole sun except for a thin, bright ring around the outer edge (which happens when the moon is at the far end of its orbit and too small to cover the entire sun). The solar eclipse tomorrow will tick all the boxes for both types of eclipse!
Tomorrow’s eclipse is going to start at sunrise over the Atlantic Ocean at 6:45am EST, and will be over at about 7:10am EST.. You’ll be able to see a partial eclipse if you’re in Spain, South Africa, the northern third of South America, or on the East Coast of the U.S. and Canada. Here’s a handy map by Michael Zeiler of where to see the eclipse in the Americas.
If you do decide to check out the eclipse, be sure to stay safe; never look directly at the sun, not even with sunglasses. Wear a pair of eclipse glasses, or make a simple pinhole projector to protect your eyes.
And if you’re not in the right neck of the woods to see the eclipse live, don’t worry! You can watch a live webcast of the eclipse right here, via Slooh.com:
(via AstroBob and Space.com, image via Mark Mathosian)
- Fly over the surface of Mars in 3D
- Check out Bill Nye (and other space experts) at SpaceVision 2013
- Here are some great shots of the Juno satellite on its way to Jupiter
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