The Watchers - May 9, 2013 - by Chillimanjaro
On May 9-10, the Moon will pass directly in front of the sun over the South Pacific, producing the first (annular) solar eclipse this year. At greatest eclipse, 95-98% of the sun’s surface will be covered. An annular eclipse occurs when the Moon eclipses the Sun while near apogee. The Moon’s apparent disk is just smaller than the Sun’s disk and the Sun appears as a brilliant ring, so it’s often called a “ring of fire”.
An annular eclipse will be visible from a 171 to 225 kilometre-wide track that traverses Australia, eastern Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, and the Gilbert Islands. A partial eclipse is seen within the much broader path of the Moon’s penumbral shadow, which includes Australia, Indonesia, Oceania and much of the central the Pacific Ocean.
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