Eastern hemisphere will witness solar eclipse on Jan 4
January 1st, 2011 - 11:41 am ICT by ANIWashington, Jan 1 (ANI): A dramatic partial eclipse of the Sun will be visible throughout Europe, Africa, and Asia on January 4.
Depending on the viewer’s location, the Moon will slowly cover and then uncover up to 80 percent of the Sun’s disk over a 3-hour period.
For many cities in Western Europe and Africa, Tuesday’s event will already be under way at sunrise, offering a great chance for interesting photography.
A solar eclipse can only happen during a new Moon, and in particular when the Moon passes directly between Earth and the Sun.
A partial solar eclipse can be viewed from a relatively wide geographic area. The closer you are to the point of greatest eclipse the deeper the Moon’s “bite” in the Sun’s disk.
And Europeans won’t get another opportunity like this until March 20, 2015.
Anyone watching the solar eclipse should do so very carefully.
“Looking directly at the Sun is harmful to your eyes at any time, partial eclipse or no,” said Alan MacRobert of Sky & Telescope magazine.
“The eclipse prompts people to gaze at the Sun, something they wouldn’t normally do. The result can be temporary or permanent blurred vision or blind spots at the center of your view,” he added.
One should get look at the Sun directly through glasses equipped with special solar filters, or through dark #13 or #14 welder’s glass. Another easy method is create a pinhole projector, created by poking a small hole in a card, facing it toward the Sun, and holding a second card about 1 meter behind it in its shadow.
“Amateur astronomers have been able to view a total solar eclipse somewhere in the world for the past three years,” notes Kelly Beatty of Sky & Telescope.
“But there won’t be one this year — so everyone in a position to see the partial event on January 4th should enjoy it if they can.”
To see the partial eclipse as it happens, go to these live webcasts:
University of Barcelona’s Department of Astronomy and Meteorology:http://serviastro.am.ub.es/serviastro/www/html/eps2011/live/index.html
Bareket Observatory in Israel: http://www.bareket-astro.com/live-astronomical-web-cast/live-solar-eclipse-webcast-jan-04-2011.html (ANI)
- India to miss 'Ring of Fire' during Monday's solar eclipse - May 20, 2012
- Solar eclipse will occur on January 4, 2011 - Dec 24, 2010
- Partial solar eclipse in Delhi, but clouds play spoilsport - Jan 04, 2011
- Total lunar eclipse on Saturday - Dec 07, 2011
- Partial solar eclipse Jan 4 - Dec 29, 2010
- Ignore superstitions, watch solar eclipse with proper gear - Jan 13, 2010
- Solar Eclipse 2009 streaming video sites - Jul 22, 2009
- Longest solar eclipse of the millennium begins - Jan 15, 2010
- A solar eclipse for penguins, sea leopards? - Jul 01, 2011
- India to miss partial solar eclipse - May 31, 2011
- Delhiites set to witness darkest lunar eclipse - Jun 15, 2011
- Watch 'Ring of Fire' in the sky Jan 15 - Jan 10, 2010
- Venus and crescent Moon to pair up at dawn on Feb 28th, March 1st - Feb 23, 2011
- Watch 'Ring of Fire' during Monday's solar eclipse - May 19, 2012
- American astronomer chasing his 50th solar eclipse (With Image) - Jan 13, 2010
Tags: alan macrobert, amateur astronomers, beatty, blind spots, blurred vision, eastern hemisphere, eclipse of the sun, europe africa, europeans, look at the sun, meteorology, new moon, partial eclipse of the sun, partial solar eclipse, pinhole projector, solar filters, telescope magazine, total solar eclipse, university of barcelona, western europe