StarDate

Annular Eclipse


Listen Later

Sometimes, nature is kind and generous. In April, for example, it produced a total solar eclipse that was seen by tens of millions.

At other times, though, nature is more impish. An example of that comes up tomorrow. There’s another solar eclipse. But this time, the Moon will be farthest from Earth for the entire year. So the Sun will encircle the Moon with a wide ring of fire – an annular eclipse. And not many people will see it – almost its entire path is over the Pacific Ocean.

During an annular eclipse, the Moon lines up directly in front of the Sun, as it does during a total eclipse. But the Moon is farther from Earth than average, so it can’t completely cover the Sun. Tomorrow’s eclipse peaks less than an hour before the Moon reaches its greatest distance from Earth for the entire year – more than 252,500 miles – almost 14,000 miles farther than the average distance. So the Moon will block no more than 87 percent of the Sun’s disk.

Even so, it should be a great sight for anyone along the path – as long as they have the proper eye protection.

The eclipse begins south of Hawaii, then sweeps toward the southeast. It nicks the tip of South America, then ends over the South Atlantic. Hawaii will see a partial eclipse, beginning at sunrise. And North America? Well, nature’s not as generous this time. None of the eclipse will be visible from anywhere on the continent.

Script by Damond Benningfield

...more
View all episodesView all episodes
Download on the App Store

StarDateBy Billy Henry

  • 4.6
  • 4.6
  • 4.6
  • 4.6
  • 4.6

4.6

251 ratings


More shows like StarDate

View all
Science Friday by Science Friday and WNYC Studios

Science Friday

6,183 Listeners

BirdNote Daily by BirdNote

BirdNote Daily

1,187 Listeners

Planetary Radio: Space Exploration, Astronomy and Science by The Planetary Society

Planetary Radio: Space Exploration, Astronomy and Science

1,329 Listeners

Radiolab by WNYC Studios

Radiolab

43,789 Listeners

Astronomy Cast by Fraser Cain and Dr. Pamela Gay

Astronomy Cast

2,847 Listeners

The 365 Days of Astronomy by 365DaysOfAstronomy.org

The 365 Days of Astronomy

351 Listeners

Universe Today Podcast by Fraser Cain

Universe Today Podcast

544 Listeners

Ask a Spaceman! by Paul M. Sutter

Ask a Spaceman!

803 Listeners

Space Nuts: Astronomy Insights & Cosmic Discoveries by Professor Fred Watson and Andrew Dunkley

Space Nuts: Astronomy Insights & Cosmic Discoveries

226 Listeners

SpaceTime: Your Guide to Space & Astronomy by Stuart Gary

SpaceTime: Your Guide to Space & Astronomy

294 Listeners

Short Wave by NPR

Short Wave

6,206 Listeners

The Supermassive Podcast by The Royal Astronomical Society

The Supermassive Podcast

279 Listeners

NASA's Curious Universe by National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

NASA's Curious Universe

841 Listeners

Why This Universe? by Dan Hooper, Shalma Wegsman

Why This Universe?

362 Listeners

Crash Course Pods: The Universe by Crash Course Pods, Complexly

Crash Course Pods: The Universe

503 Listeners