But not for us. Only those who may happen to be in the southern most parts of the Pacific Ocean will be fortunate enough to view the first solar eclipse of 2008. Those who find themselves in the southern Australia and New Zealand should be able to see this astronomical delight.
A solar eclipse occurs when the moon is between the Earth and the Sun which causes the shadow of the Moon to fall on the Earth's surface. This eclipse is of the annular type meaning that the Moon is too far away from the Earth to cause a total solar eclipse. The most complete part of this eclipse will take place at 3 hours 55 minutes and 5 seconds UT when the moon blocks approximately 96 percent of the our view of the sun. At this point the sun will be 16 degrees above the horizon.
Astronomy.com brings up two unique elements of this eclipse: it takes place along the Earth's "sunset line" and it begins moving east to west before reversing its direction.
Bakich, M. B. (2008). Darkness Over Antarctica. Astronomy. Retrieved February 7, 2008, from http://www.astronomy.com/asy/default.aspx?c=a&id=6541
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