A Partially Eclipsed Setting Sun
Image Credit & Copyright:
Andrew Wall
If you look closely, you will see something quite unusual about this setting Sun.
There are birds flying to the Sun's left, but that's
not
so
unusual.
A dark sea covers the Sun's bottom, and dark clouds cover parts of the middle, but they are also
not
very
unusual.
More unusual is the occulted piece at the top right.
And that's no occulting cloud --
that's
the
Moon.
Yesterday the Moon moved in front of part of the Sun as visible from
Australia, and although many locations reported annoying clouds, a
partially eclipsed Sun would occasionally peek through as it set.
The above image was captured yesterday on the western horizon of
Adelaide,
South Australia.
The maximum eclipse was visible only from a small part of
Antarctica
where the entire Moon could be seen covering the
entire center of the Sun in what is known as an
annular eclipse, leaving only a
ring of fire from the Sun
peeking out around the edges.
The
next solar eclipse will be another
partial eclipse,
will occur on 2014 October 23, and will be visible from most of
North America
near sunset.