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July 31, 2008
Posted: 09:05 AM ET
Any and all Chinese readers of this blog — take note! Depending on exactly where you are, you may have a front row seat for a total solar eclipse on Friday! The rest of us will have to be content watching it on the internet.  Source: Fred Espenak, NASA/GSFC  A total eclipse of the sun happens with the moon passes directly between the Earth and Sun — momentarily covering it completely, and turning day to night. Relative to any fixed location on Earth, a total eclipse of the sun is a rare event. The last one visible from the continental U.S. happened in 1979 and the next one won’t happen until 2017. From a global perspective, it’s not so rare: a total eclipse is visible somewhere on Earth every few years. I exaggerate a bit when I say this is for Chinese sky watchers only — in fact, the event will be visible also from parts of Northern Canada, Greenland, various Arctic islands, Northern Russia and Mongolia. You can check out the projected path here. “Totality,” the brief period when the sun is fully eclipsed, should happen just after 7 a.m. Eastern time. If you are lucky enough to be in the right place at the right time to see a solar eclipse in person, eye protection is key. You should never look directly at the sun with the naked eye. You need to to look through No. 14 welder’s glass, aluminized mylar, or some other approved filter. The next total solar eclipse will happen just under a year from now, July 22, 2009, and also will be a largely Asian show, though Hawaii will catch the tail end of it. I better get my request in now to go cover it for CNN! –Kate Tobin, Sr. Producer, CNN Science & Technology |
 
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