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Credit & Copyright: Colin Legg
Explanation:
Have you ever experienced a total eclipse of the Sun?
The
above time-lapse movie depicts such an eclipse
in dramatic detail as
visible
from
Australia last month.
As the video begins, a slight dimming of the Sun and the surrounding Earth is barely
perceptible.
Suddenly, as the Moon moves to
cover
nearly the entire Sun, darkness sweeps in from the left -- the fully blocked part
of the Sun.
At totality, only the bright
solar corona extends past the edges of the Moon, and
darkness surrounds you.
Distant horizons are still bright, though, as they are not in the darkest part of
the shadow.
At mid-totality the darkness dips to the horizon below the eclipsed Sun, created
by the
shadow cone -- a corridor of shadow that traces back
to the Moon.
As the total solar eclipse ends -- usually after a few minutes --
the process reverses and
Moon's shadow moves off to the other side.
Solar eclipses
can frequently be
experienced at
gatherings organized along the
narrow eclipse path as well as specialized cruises and plane flights.
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NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings, and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris. Specific rights apply.
A service of: LHEA at NASA / GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
Based on Astronomy Picture
Of the Day
Publications with keywords: total solar eclipse - shadow
Publications with words: total solar eclipse - shadow
See also: