AMATEUR ASTRONOMY:

YESTERDAY'S ECLIPSE IN VIDEO:

As Molly has mentioned in a previous post yesterday's (August 1) total eclipse of the Sun was not visible in most of Canada. Still, millions of people in Siberia and China got a view. Here's the intro from the Scientific Blogging Site to a video of the eclipse as it occurred in the Xingiang Uiyger Autonomous Region of northwest China earlier yesterday. See the above link for the video.

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August 1 2008 Solar Eclipse Video:
On August 1, a total solar eclipse was visible in parts of Canada, northern Greenland, the Arctic, central Russia, Mongolia and China. The eclipse swept across Earth in a narrow path that began in Canada’s northern territory of Nunavut and ended in northern China’s Silk Road region.

Though the eclipse was not visible in most of North America, NASA TV and the Exploratorium made streaming video of the event available online. The following images are taken from that video, shot from the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region in northwestern China near the Mongolian border. The sun appears differently in some of the images because of the different filters used to capture the event. Times listed are ET and approximate.

AMATEUR ASTRONOMY:

THE CANADIAN SOLAR ECLIPSE OF 2008 THAT YOU WON'T SEE (unless you wear a parka in August):

Yes, there will be a total solar eclipse in Canada this year, though you are unlikely to see the event getting as much press as solar eclipses usually do. On August 1st the eclipse will begin in Canada, sweep across northern Greenland, central Siberia and end in northern China. Double click the graphic to the left or see the colour version at the end of this entry(double click this as well) to get an idea of the path of this eclipse. Whazza problem ??? This "Canadian eclipse" will begin totality in the northern part of western Nunavut at 09:11:07("central eclipse "09:24:10) UT (see the Time and Date website for conversion to your own local times). If I read my maps right Cambridge Bay and Alert may or may not see totality. Other than that the eclipse will not pass over any settled are until it hits Siberia. The path of the eclipse will be about 206 to 236 km wide. The eclipse will have its maximum extent and duration in Siberia. In Siberia the eclipse will pass over the city of Novosibirsk . for information on the eclipse in that city consult the (English language) Russian site, a presentation of the city of Novosibirsk. The central eclipse will end in China at 11:18:29 UT, and the total eclipse will end at 11:21:28. In its path from Siberia to China the eclipse will pass over the triangle where Kazakhstan, Russia and Mongolia meet. This is apparently the best site to view the eclipse as the cloud cover in the area of China that the eclipse will visit is usually quite extensive at this time of year. If you are interested the Chinese information on the eclipse is HERE at the 'Eclipse Chasers" website, a site truly devoted to those with more money than sense as it caters to those who travel the world in search of eclipses(well...to each their own hobby, and I can think of worse things to do). There is also a Google map available of the path of the solar eclipse, different from the charts presented on this page.

Want more information ? Consult the Hermit Eclipse site, and the Eclipse Chasers site.

HAPPY VIEWING IF YOU'RE A POLAR BEAR !

PARTIAL SOLAR ECLIPSE COMING UP ON SEPT 11:

VISIBLE ONLY FROM SOUTH AMERICA:

On Tuesday, September 11th the second partial solar eclipse will be visible from points in southern South America and in Antarctica. The maximum extent of the eclipse, about 75%, will only be visible on the high seas in the Drake Passage. Still, residents of Peru, Bolivia, Paraguay, Brazil, Uruguay, Argentina and Chile will be able to view varying amounts of the event. The eclipse will begin at 10:25:46 UT and end at 14:36:33 UT. If you are resident in South America see the Time and Date website to convert these times to your local time.

There will be no totality during this eclipse because the Moon's umbra will pass into space about 802 kilometers below the South Pole.

To learn more about this event and other upcoming eclipses both solar and lunar and to get local times go to NASA's Eclipse Home Page. Click on the figure to the left to get an enlarged view of the path of this eclipse.

"DOUBLE MOONS" AND "DOUBLE ECLIPSES"; THE REST OF THE STORY":

SECOND LUNAR ECLIPSE OF 2007: DUE AUGUST 28TH:

THE REST OF THE STORY:

As Molly has made plain in a previous post (see'What's All This Double Moon Stuff' earlier today) there will not be either any "double Moon" or "double eclipse" on the upcoming lunar eclipse in the early morning of August 28th. It will be the regular and ordinary lunar eclipse. Yet... is there a "real" "double Moon" or a "double eclipse" ?

The Astroblog site previously mentioned on this blog actually has a photograph of an apparent "double Moon" posted on their site. See http://astroblogger.blogspot.com/2007/07/double-moon.html . This is an optical illusion, but the photograph is "rather attractive" showing the waning(or is it "waxing" because it was taken from the southern hemisphere in Australia ?-more on this later) crescent Moon. Have a look.

There is also a real "double eclipse" referred to as "selenelion" or a "selenehelion" eclipse. This is a rather rare event which can only occur when both the Moon and the Sun are at the horizon when the eclipse occurs. This is also referred to as an "horizontal eclipse". The last time that this occurred was during the lunar eclipse of May 16th over Europe. For this event to occur it has to be either just prior to sunset or just before sunrise. Molly never expects to see such an event in her lifetime, but I really have to look into this. When an "horizontal eclipse" occurs the Sun and Moon visibly eclipse each other as they are rising or setting.

So.. "that's the rest of the story".