Sunday, February 3, 2008

First Solar Eclipse of 2008!

On February 7 the first solar eclipse of the year will occur. It will be visible to those lucky inhabitants currently residing in Antarctica, New Zealand, Australia and the like.
This is not a full eclipse. Rather, it is an eclipse of the Annular variety. An annular eclipse is pretty freaking sweet. What's it look like? Basically, picture the moon centered in the pathway of the sun. The moon is not able to complete a full eclipse at this time because the moon lies too far from the earth, making its visible surface area noticeably more compact.
The eclipse occurs at 3hrs55min05sec UT (Universal Time). The eclipse's duration is 2 minutes 12 seconds. It should be pretty neat. If you are planning to be trekking across the frozen expanse of Antarctica, wrestling the Australian kangaroos or hiking the huts of New Zealand on February 7, this is an event you surely will not want to miss.
Cheers!
Lindsey

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