Moon takes a bite of the Sun
Source: NASA
On Thursday 7 February the Moon will take a bite out of the Sun during a Solar Eclipse.
This occurs when the Moon comes between the Earth and the Sun. The Moon blocks out the light of the Sun, making it seem like a part of the Sun is missing.
Here in Melbourne, we will experience a partial eclipse with just 9% of the Sun obscured by the Moon. With such a small fraction of the Sun blocked out, there will be minimal effect on general sunshine levels and for the most part we will hardly notice.
However, it is important to never stare directly at the Sun. The Sun can damage your eyesight at any time, and while it may be tempting to look at the Sun during an eclipse, it is not safe to do so. There are safe ways to view a solar eclipse and at Scienceworks we will be setting up special solar telescopes to view the event.
During the eclipse the Moon will make a glancing pass across the top of the Sun. By using safe methods to view the Sun, it will appear as if the Sun is wearing a baseball cap!
While we see a partial eclipse, Antarctica will see an Annular Solar Eclipse where the Moon is not able to cover the Sun completely and a ring of sunlight remains visible encircling the Moon.
The eclipse will occur as follows (all times are Australian Eastern Daylight Time):
Eclipse begins: 2:39pm
Eclipse maximum: 3:28pm
Eclipse ends: 4:15pm
The next Total Solar Eclipse will occur on 1 August 2008 and will be visible in Canada, northern Greenland, the Arctic, Siberia, Mongolia and China. Australia will see its next partial eclipse on 26 January 2009, but will have to wait until 13 November 2012 for its next Total Solar Eclipse.