Eclipse Over New York
Image Credit & Copyright:
Chris Cook
A sunrise over New York City rarely looks like this.
Yesterday, however, the Sun rose partly
eclipsed by the Moon
as seen from much of the eastern North American and northern South America.
Simultaneously, much of Africa, already well into daytime, saw the
eclipse from beginning to end.
The eclipse was unusual in that it was a
hybrid -- parts of the Earth saw the Moon as too angularly small to cover the whole Sun, and so at maximum coverage left the
Sun surrounded by a
ring a fire,
while other parts of the Earth saw the Moon as
large enough to cover the entire Sun,
and so at maximum coverage witnessed a
total solar eclipse.
Slight changes in the
angular size of the Moon
as seen from the Earth's surface are caused by the non-flatness of the Earth and the
ellipticity of the Moon's orbit.
Pictured above, the famous
Empire State Building in
New York City
is seen to the left of the
partially eclipsed Sun, adorned with scenic clouds.
The next solar
eclipse visible from New York
City -- a very slight eclipse -- will occur during the sunset of 2014
October 23.