Annular Solar Eclipse 15 Jan 2010

Annular Solar Eclipse 15 Jan 2010#14055

By abuali - 11 Jan 2010, 18:24

- 11 Jan 2010, 18:24 #14055

Sun Eclipse visible from Dar es Salaam

Date: Friday 15 Jan, 2010
Time: Approx. 7:08am to 10:17am
WARNING: NEVER LOOK AT THE SUN (EVEN WHILE IN ECLIPSE) WITH YOUR NAKED EYES. IT CAN RESULT IN BLINDNESS WITHOUT YOUR KNOWING IT. READ THE 2ND POST BELOW FOR MORE DETAILS

Here is an animation to show what will happen as seen from Dar es Salaam

An image taken of an eclipsed sun (WARNING: NEVER LOOK AT THE SUN THROUGH A CAMERA, BINOCULARS OR TELESCOPE. THIS WILL RESULT IN BLINDNESS. READ 2ND POST FOR MORE DETAILS)

sun_eclipse_15_jan_2010.jpg (67.12 KiB) Viewed 6962 times

The above map shows the path of the Annular Solar Eclipse of 2010 Jan 15 . The northern and southern path limits are blue and the central line is red. The yellow.The green marker labeled GE is the point of Greatest Eclipse.

The annular eclipse begins at local dawn, around 05:18 UT in the Central African Republic, as the Sun begins to rise eclipsed. The full eclipsed Sun is visible by 05:13:54 UT. The path is 366km wide here, and the eclipse will last over 7 minutes. The eclipse then moves east, through the Democratic Republic of Congo, Uganda, Kenya and Somalia, reaching the coast at around 05:36 UT. At this point, the path is 348km wide, and the eclipse will last almost 9 minutes on the centreline.

Watch 'The Mukhtar Narrative / Mukhtar Nama' on Ask - a series narrating Mukhtar al-Thaqafi's revenge for Karbala.
Watch 'The life of the Father of Chemistry, Jabir ibn Hayyan'

Re: Annular Solar Eclipse 15 Jan 2010#14056

By abuali - 11 Jan 2010, 18:26

- 11 Jan 2010, 18:26 #14056

EYE SAFETY DURING SOLAR ECLIPSES

The Sun can be viewed safely with the naked eye only during the few brief seconds or minutes of a total solar eclipse. Partial eclipses, annular eclipses, and the partial phases of total eclipses are never safe to watch without taking special precautions. Even when 99% of the Sun's surface is obscured during the partial phases of a total eclipse, the remaining photospheric crescent is intensely bright and cannot be viewed safely without eye protection [Chou, 1981; Marsh, 1982]. Do not attempt to observe the partial or annular phases of any eclipse with the naked eye. Failure to use appropriate filtration may result in permanent eye damage or blindness!

Generally, the same equipment, techniques and precautions used to observe the Sun outside of eclipse are required for annular eclipses and the partial phases of total eclipses [Reynolds & Sweetsir, 1995; Pasachoff & Covington, 1993; Pasachoff & Menzel, 1992; Sherrod, 1981]. The safest and most inexpensive of these methods is by projection, in which a pinhole or small opening is used to cast the image of the Sun on a screen placed a half-meter or more beyond the opening. Projected images of the Sun may even be seen on the ground in the small openings created by interlacing fingers, or in the dappled sunlight beneath a leafy tree. Binoculars can also be used to project a magnified image of the Sun on a white card, but you must avoid the temptation of using these instruments for direct viewing.

The Sun can be viewed directly only when using filters specifically designed for this purpose. Such filters usually have a thin layer of aluminum, chromium or silver deposited on their surfaces that attenuates ultraviolet, visible, and infrared energy. One of the most widely available filters for safe solar viewing is a number 14 welder's glass, available through welding supply outlets. More recently, aluminized mylar has become a popular, inexpensive alternative. Mylar can easily be cut with scissors and adapted to any kind of box or viewing device. A number of sources for solar filters are listed below. No filter is safe to use with any optical device (i.e. - telescope, binoculars, etc.) unless it has been specifically designed for that purpose. Experienced amateur and professional astronomers may also use one or two layers of completely exposed and fully developed black-and-white film, provided the film contains a silver emulsion. Since all developed color films lack silver, they are always unsafe for use in solar viewing.

Unsafe filters include color film, some non-silver black and white film, medical x-ray films with images on them, smoked glass, photographic neutral density filters and polarizing filters. Solar filters designed to thread into eyepieces which are often sold with inexpensive telescopes are also dangerous. They should not be used for viewing the Sun at any time since they often crack from overheating. Do not experiment with other filters unless you are certain that they are safe. Damage to the eyes comes predominantly from invisible infrared wavelengths. The fact that the Sun appears dark in a filter or that you feel no discomfort does not guarantee that your eyes are safe. Avoid all unnecessary risks. Your local planetarium or amateur astronomy club is a good source for additional information.

In spite of these precautions, the total phase of an eclipse can and should be viewed without any filters whatsoever. The naked eye view of totality is completely safe and is overwhelmingly awe-inspiring!

Further reading: How to observe Solar Eclipses safely