This weekend , the Moon will pass between Earth and the Sun , giving acclivity to what sky - watchers call an annular occultation . Also known as a “ tintinnabulation of fire ” occultation ( for reasons that the top image should make clear ) , it ’s the first ring-shaped occultation to be visible from the continental U.S. in nigh to 20 year . Here ’s what you take to know to catch a coup d’oeil .
Remember thesupermoonfrom a couple weeks back ? If you do , you might recollect reading that one of the thing that made the Moon “ super ” that night was its law of proximity to Earth . Because the Moon ’s compass is elliptical , there are times throughout the month when it is unaired to our planet than others . Two week ago , the Moon was at perigee , putting it nigher to us than any other point in the calendar month . In contrast , Sunday ’s Moon will be near to apogee , the point in its orbital cavity at which it is furthest from our major planet .
https://gizmodo.com/prepare-for-the-supermoon-the-biggest-brightest-full-5906395
The Moon ’s space from us means that its plain diameter in the sky will be at its smallest for the entire calendar month , so when it pass between the Sun and the Earth on Sunday night , it wo n’t be capable to encompass the whole sun . As a event , some parts of the country will be able-bodied to find a ring of sunshine like the one envision up top , a set feature of annular eclipses .
The eclipse will last from 20:56 UTC on May 20th til 02:49 UTC on May 21st ( that ’s 16:56 to 22:49 EDT , or 13:56 to 19:49 PDT on May 20th ) , and will be seeable from China to the easternmost regions of North America . This map , created byEclipse Maps ’ Michael Zeiler , illustrates when and where you could require to take in the eclipse . As a general formula : If you ’re in North America , the further west you are the better .
There ’s a band incline across Zeiler ’s mapping labeled “ Path of the annular solar occultation . ” These are the region of the Earth from which the Sun ’s “ halo of fire ” will actually be visible ( to everyone else , Sunday ’s will look much like any other partial solar occultation ) .
This close - up of North America ( viaSky & Telescope ) shew the small band of the American sou'-west from which the annulate eclipse will be clearly seeable . Here , via AccuWeather.com , are a few locations that fall within this slip of geographics , and the times at which the Moon will be most centre over the Sun ’s face :
Albuquerque , NM : 7:36 p.m. MDT
Eureka , CA : 6:28 p.m. PDT
Lubbock , TX : 8:36 p.m. CDT
Medford , OR : 6:26 p.m. PDT
Reno , NV : 6:31 p.m. PDT
Of course , most the great unwashed do n’t exist along this narrow striation of the United States ( or anywhere else along the course of the annulate eclipse , for that matter ) . But that ’s ok ; you’re able to always watch it online .
Your best stake is probably tocheck out the SLOOH Space Camera , which will be streaming feed variety telescopes along the annulated path in Japan , California , Arizona and New Mexico beginning Sunday at 5:30 p.m. EST . SLOOH even has it set up so you’re able to take pictures of the eclipse as it open .
One of the welfare to watching the eclipse online , rather than in - person , is not having to worry about taking precautions when in reality take in the eclipse . Looking directly at the Sun — even during an eclipse , and , yes , even with sunglasses — is an awful , awful idea , and can for good damage your vision .
To safely see the occultation , you ’ll require to go buy a solar filter . These come in a potpourri of signifier , from wearable solar shades , to attachments that you may stick on to telescopes and binoculars . They ’ll cut the brightness by enough that you ’ll be able to take in glimpses of the Sun without frying your retinas .
If it ’s last instant or buying a solar filter is n’t an option , Sky and Telescope has detailed direction for viewing the occultation witha variety of pinhole projection techniques . ( The photograph featured here shows how skygazers in Madrid used projection techniques to consider an annular eclipseback in 2005 . ) Here ’s the simple one :
Poke a small muddle in an index card with a pencil point , confront it toward the Sun , and hold a second card three or four feet behind it in its shadow . The hole will project a little double of the Sun ’s disk onto the broken carte du jour . This image will go through all the phases of the occultation , just as the existent Sun does . experimentation with different size holes . A big hole makes the simulacrum promising but fuzzy ; a small hole makes it dip but sharp . the ever - popular pinhole projector technique .
More sophisticated projection methods imply the function of a composition board boxful , or the room of a house with a sun - facing windowpane . you may snap through for more details .
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