On March 8 (or March 9, depending upon where you live), the moon will pass in front of the sun, causing a total solar eclipse that will last at least a minute in every part of the world over which it will pass, officials from the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center have revealed.
But will your neck of the woods be one of those lucky enough to witness the event? To help you figure that out, Goddard scientists have released a time-lapse animation depicting each are where the rare solar eclipse will be visible – a nearly 100-mile-wide path that passes over Sumatra, then moves on to Borneo, Sulawesi and several islands located in Southeastern Asia.
The total eclipse will last from between one and a half minutes to a little more than four minutes at each area, and a total of three hours will pass from the time that the event is visible at its most western point to the time it reaches its easternmost point and comes to an ends. In all, the eclipse will be visible along an 8,800 mile long stretch of the planet’s surface.
“You notice something off about the sunlight as you reach totality,” said Sarah Jaeggli, a space scientist at the Goddard facility in Maryland, who has witnesses two solar eclipses in her career. “Your surroundings take on a twilight cast, even though it’s daytime and the sky is still blue.”
Alaska, Hawaii among areas that could see a partial eclipse
A solar eclipse, which occurs when the moon passes directly between the Earth and the Sun, take place only about once per year due to the fact that the sun and moon don’t orbit in the same exact plane. Next month’s event will entirely block the face of the sun, leaving only the faint outline of the solar atmosphere, the sun’s corona, visible to onlookers in the affected locations.
“The moon blocks the light of the sun’s surface very, very precisely. You can see all the way down to the roots of the corona, where the atmosphere meets the sun’s surface,” Jaeggli said. A partial solar eclipse will be visible throughout Asia and the Pacific, as well as in Hawaii, Guam and in some regions of Alaska one-hour before and after the total eclipse, according to NASA.
“Partial solar eclipses are much less dramatic than their total counterparts. Changes in ambient light are generally not noticeable until the sun is more than 95 percent covered by the moon, and even the smallest sliver of visible surface is enough to drown out the corona,” the agency added.
Nonetheless, those planning to view them should take the proper precautions to protect their eyes from harm. As the folks at Astronomy Now explained, a person should never look directly at the sun during an eclipse. Instead, they advise using a solar-filtered telescope, special eclipse glasses or a pinhole projector to catch the show, even if 99 percent of the sun’s surface is obscured.
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Feature Image: Thinkstock
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