A Fleeting Eclipse
Credit & Copyright:
Olivier Staiger
A lunar eclipse can be viewed in a leisurely fashion.
Visible to anyone on the night side of
planet Earth (weather permitting), totality
often lasts an hour or so as the moon glides through the Earth's shadow.
But a solar eclipse is more fleeting.
Totality can last a few minutes only
for those fortunate enough to stand in the path of the Moon's shadow as it
races across the Earth's surface.
For the April 29, 1995 annular solar eclipse,
photographer Olivier Staiger
was standing in Macara, Ecuador under partially cloudy skies.
Just before
the maximum annular eclipse phase he recorded
this dramatic moment as a bird flew near the sun.
Very accurate predictions of eclipses have
long been possible.
The next solar eclipse will
occur on September 2 and
be visible from Australia, New Zealand, and Antarctica.
The next lunar eclipse on September 16 will
be visible from the Eastern Hemisphere.