Friday’s Total Solar Eclipse can be Watched on the Internet

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If you’ve ever wanted to see a solar eclipse, this might be the time to do it. It is a very rare chance to see an eclipse at totality because the Moon’s shadow is so small and, more often than not, it falls on sparsely populated regions of the planet. Often eclipse hunters are resigned to planning expensive trips to these locations, sometimes only to be disappointed by poor weather. But there’s an answer. This Friday’s eclipse will swing over Canada, the tip of Greenland, parts of Russia, China and Mongolia, including the Gobi desert, although nothing can replace actually travelling to one of these locations to witness this celestial event, NASA will transmit the eclipse live over the Internet. Excellent, now we can do some eclipse-chasing without leaving our armchairs…

Back in 1999, the south of the UK was fortunate to witness a total solar eclipse. I remember the excitement this caused on August 11th during that short British summer. Totality could be experienced in the southern-most county of Cornwall, but my hometown, Bristol, would see more than 90% totality. Although it wasn’t perfect, I decided to stay at home as the weather forecast for Cornwall wasn’t good, Bristol was better. Ultimately I wanted to see the “diamond ring” of the edge of the Sun peaking over the limb of the Moon. So, I kitted myself out. I constructed a rudimentary eclipse projector with a pair of binoculars and purchased a new tripod for my camera so I could photograph the projected image via the binocular set-up. I was good to go. But as with all British summers, I couldn’t rely on the weather. It turned out the weather front that was forecast for Cornwall had blown north ahead of schedule, blanketing my city and most of Cornwall. Alas, the eclipse was wasted on most of mainland Britain…

That’s the problem with trying to view the eclipse, often it will be in the wrong location at the right time, or the right location at the wrong time. Of course many eclipse hunters have luck on their side and are able to enjoy totality with clear skies, but for most of us have to make do with photos and videos taken by other people after the event. Not quite the same.

This Friday’s eclipse will be like most others, but this time it will start in Canada, pass over Greenland, Russia, China and Mongolia. If you are based in the USA, you might catch a glimpse of the event at sunrise in northeastern Maine. However, dedicated eclipse chasers like NASA astrophysicist Fred Espenak will be travelling to northern China to witness the event. But it hasn’t been easy. As the Olympics are starting next week in Beijing, travel expenses have sky-rocketed, plus fuel prices can only make things worse. Many Chinese eclipse tours can cost $3,000-$6,000 and if you fancied a trip to the High Arctic on a Russian icebreaker, expect to pay $23,000.

So we don’t miss out, NASA will be transmitting the live eclipse (presumably via their homepage www.nasa.gov) starting well before its peak at 7:09 am EDT. Also, museums like the Exploratorium in San Francisco have special eclipse events scheduled so we can all have the chance of seeing the event as it happens. Again, it’s not the same as experiencing it yourself, but at least you can guarantee clear skies via the Internet…

Source: AP