As I have told my daughter I have specially arranged a
partial eclipse to celebrate Kipp's first birthday.
partial eclipse to celebrate Kipp's first birthday.
PARTIAL SOLAR ECLIPSE ON THURSDAY 7th FEBRUARY 2008
On Thursday afternoon 7th February 2008 a large chunk of the Sun will disappear as the Moon covers it in a partial solar eclipse. This rare event only happens every few years. From a Wellington viewers perspective a small bite of the Sun will disappear, starting at 4.35PM. Then the Moon will progressively cover the Sun until its greatest coverage of 63% will occur at 5:42PM. From there it will move off the Sun until it is all over at 6.44PM.
One thing about astronomy is that it is very accurate as far as time is concerned.
A partial solar eclipse isn’t nearly as spectacular as a total solar eclipse when the Sun is completely covered for a few minutes. Nevertheless, it’s still an amazing sight to behold – however, as we all know sight is the thing to beware of as any attempt to look at the Sun with binoculars or a telescope (or even the naked eye) can result in blindness.
This is the first partial solar eclipse visible from New Zealand since April 2005. The next will not be until November 2011. So the general consensus is, make the most of this one!
