CURRENT MOON

Tuesday, March 28, 2006

Nothing I Can Say; It's a Total Eclipse of the Sun


BBC reports that tomorrow's full moon will pass between the Earth and the Sun.

The report notes that, "During the "totality", darkness will fall over the surrounding landscape and the solar atmosphere - or corona, normally hidden from view - is visible. . . . "Solar eclipses are the ultimate astronomical show," said Dr Robert Massey, senior astronomer at the UK's Royal Observatory Greenwich.

"It's up there with the highest-rated television programme. If there is one thing you do to do with astronomy in your lifetime, go and see a solar eclipse.

"I think it's such a special event that you can't help but be moved by it.

"Day turns into night. Suddenly, in place of this brilliant Sun, you have something like a flower opening. You see the corona - the outer atmosphere of the Sun - radiating behind the dark silhouette of the Moon.

"It's indescribable - utterly beautiful. I think it's such a special event that you can't help but be moved by it," he told the BBC News website.

A total solar eclipse occurs when the Moon completely covers the face of the Sun as seen from the Earth's surface. The track of the Moon's shadow across Earth is called the "path of totality".

Skywatchers have been warned against looking directly at the partially eclipsed phases of the event."


Now, you know, any time you have a chance to see the "path of totality," well, you should do it.

1 comment:

Rmj said...

Experienced a total eclipse in Austin once.

Eeriest thing I ever went through. Made you realize you were part of the cosmos, not just a disinterested observer.

An existential experience, if that makes any sense.