Tag: eclipse

‘Ring of fire’ eclipse wows across Asia

  SINGAPORE, Singapore (AFP) — Skywatchers from Saudi Arabia and Oman to India and Singapore were treated to a rare “ring of fire” solar eclipse Thursday. Annular eclipses occur when the Moon is not close enough to the Earth to completely obscure the Sun, leaving a thin ring of the solar disc visible. While these types of eclipses occur every year or two, they are only visible from a narrow band of Earth each time […]

South Americans marvel at total solar eclipse

by Paulina ABRAMOVICH LA HIGUERA, Chile (AFP) — A rare total solar eclipse plunged a vast swath of Latin America’s southern cone into darkness Tuesday, briefly turning day into night and enthralling huge crowds in much of Chile and Argentina. Hundreds of thousands of people — including large crowds congregated in La Higuera in Chile, a country that hosts some of the world’s most powerful astronomical telescopes — looked to the skies captivated by the […]

‘Blood moon’ dazzles skygazers in century’s longest eclipse on July 27

  by Pascale Mollard Agence France Presse PARIS, France (AFP) — The longest “blood moon” eclipse this century dazzled skygazers across the globe Friday, coinciding with Mars’ closest approach in 15 years in a thrilling celestial spectacle. As Earth’s constant companion slowly sailed across the skies, crowds gathered around the world to catch a glimpse of the rare phenomenon. Beside Lake Magadi, 100 kilometres (60 miles) southwest of the Kenyan capital Nairobi, young members of […]

Total solar eclipse begins on US West Coast

by Sébastien VUAGNAT / with Kerry SHERIDAN in Charleston Agence France-Presse MADRAS, United States – Emotional sky-gazers on the US West Coast cheered and applauded Monday as the Sun briefly vanished behind the Moon — a rare total solar eclipse that will stretch across North America for the first time in nearly a century. Eclipse chasers and amateur star watchers alike converged in cities along the path of totality, a 70-mile (113-kilometer) wide path running through 14 […]

Millions pour into US towns in path of total eclipse

by Kerry Sheridan Agence France Presse CHARLESTON, United States (AFP) — On Monday, when a total solar eclipse sweeps across the United States for the first time in 99 years, people gathering in Charleston, South Carolina, will be the last on the continent to experience it. They are ready. Historic Charleston, with its cobblestone streets and elegant antebellum mansions, was clearly a-bustle on Sunday, in full pre-eclipse mode. Its restaurants were packed and downtown parking […]

Solar eclipse offers millions a chance at citizen science

by Kerry SHERIDAN Agence France Presse MIAMI, United States (AFP) — Millions of people, from students to rocket scientists, are poised to contribute to a massive scientific effort to study the total solar eclipse that will sweep across the United States August 21. The entire country will fall into shadow as the “Great American Eclipse” passes, though the darkest path, or “totality,” will be contained in a 70-mile (113-kilometer) ribbon that moves from Oregon to […]

Crowds gather to watch a partial solar eclipse in Manila

  (Reuters) — Crowds in Manila gathered to watch the partial solar eclipse seen from the Philippines on Wednesday (March 9). Nearly 50 percent of the sun was covered when the eclipse reached its maximum in Manila, the state meteorology department said. Tourists in Rizal Park witnessed the partial eclipse as they used simple solar filters distributed by the local planetarium. Astronomers projected the shadow caused by the eclipse onto a cardboard. “I had a […]