Antarctica, Australia, NZ To Get Annular Eclipse

[Bianca]

View of annular eclipse of the Sun in Vigo, Spain in 2005.
A handful of scientists and visitors in Antarctica will get
a rare treat on February 7 with an annular eclipse of the
Sun, while Southeast Australia and New Zealand will get
a partial view.

(AFP/File/Miguel Ropia)







                                         Antarctica, Australia, NZ to get annular eclipse
 



PARIS (AFP) - A handful of scientists and visitors in Antarctica will get a rare treat on Thursday
with an annular eclipse of the Sun, while Southeast Australia and New Zealand will get a partial
view, websites reported on Thursday.
 
An annular eclipse happens when the Moon moves between the Sun and Earth.

Because of a minute difference in distance because of celestial mechanics, the Moon does not
cover the solar face completely, as in a total eclipse. As a result, the Moon appears as a dark
disc, with a dazzling, ring-shaped corona around it.

For those watching from the fringe of the track, the Sun is partially obscured, as if a bite had
been taken out of it.

Thursday's eclipse runs from 0138 to 0611 GMT.

Full details, including information about safe viewing, can be found on

(http://www.eclipse.org.uk/eclipse/0132008/), (http://sunearth.gsfc.nasa.gov/eclipse/OH/OHtables/OH2008-Tab02.pdf) and (http://www.rasnz.org.nz/Events2008.htm).

A total solar eclipse will take place on August 1, with the shadow, or umbra, passing over Russia,
Mongolia and China.