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A Preview of the Solar Eclipse
By Wil Milan
Special to SPACE.com
posted: 08:00 am ET
30 July 2000
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solar_eclipse_preview_000728 A partial eclipse of the sun will take place late Sunday afternoon (U.S. time) and will be visible from the northwestern continental U.S., Canada, Alaska and portions of Greenland. The eclipse will be also be visible across the International Date Line in portions of northern Asia and Europe, where it will be early Monday morning.A near-miss by the moonA solar eclipse occurs when the moon in its orbit moves directly between Earth and the sun. The moons shadow then falls on portions of the Earths surface and from those locations the sun briefly appears to be blocked out by the moon. That is a total solar eclipse, with the sun completely hidden by the moon. | A Solar Eclipse | | A solar eclipse occurs when the moon in its orbit moves directly between Earth and the sun. Watch animation of a solar eclipse . | On some occasions, however, the moon is placed in such a way that its cone of shadow just grazes or barely misses Earth. In those cases, from Earth the sun will not appear to be fully blocked out, but only partially obscured by the moon. That is a partial solar eclipse, with only a portion of the suns disk hidden by the moon. That's what will occur this weekend.The danger of eclipses An eclipse of the sun is the only type of astronomical event that truly poses a danger for observers unless proper precautions are taken. The danger of solar eclipses arises from the extreme brightness of the sun. It is always dangerous to look directly at the sun because the lens of the eye will focus the suns extremely bright image on a tiny spot in the center of the retina. If the exposure lasts much more than a fraction of a second it can cause permanent damage to the eye. That can lead to permanent loss of vision and in some cases has caused complete blindness. Because the suns disk is never totally obscured in a partial eclipse, the eclipse this weekend poses a greater risk of eye damage than a total eclipse, so proper precautions are particularly important. When and where to see the eclipse The peak of the eclipse will be at approximately 7:13 p.m. Pacific Daylight Time (Monday, 02:13 GMT). The obscuration of the sun will be greatest from Baffin Bay in far northern Canada, off the west coast of Greenland, but observers throughout the observing area will be able to see at least partial obscuration of the sun by the dark disk of the moon.
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