2003 June 18
High above a small church near Vienna,
Austria, clouds and the Moon vied for
position in front of the Sun.
Such was the case on the ground late
last month during a
partial eclipse of the Sun
visible throughout
Europe and
Asia.
Nearing the farthest part of its
orbit around the Earth, the
Moon's angular size was too small to
block the entire Sun, a situation that would have resulted in a
total solar eclipse.
The next solar eclipse visible from Earth will occur on
November 23.
Although a total eclipse will be visible only from parts of
Antarctica,
parts of the Sun will momentarily disappear for observers across
Australia,
New Zealand, and the southernmost tip of
South America.