Sunrise Solar Eclipse

Sunrise Solar Eclipse

 Early Sunday morning, sky watchers along the east coast of North America might notice something missing--a piece of the sun. A partial eclipse will be underway at sunrise. Dawn will look something like this:

 

 

Above: A sunrise eclipse in Italy on Jan. 4, 2011. Credit: Antonio Finazzi

As much as 54% of the sun will be covered by the New Moon; the size of the bite depends on location. To see it, look east between about 6:30 am and 7 am EST. Although low-hanging clouds might dim the sun to naked-eye visibility, safe solar filters are strongly recommended. Aluminized Mylar and #14 welder's glass are popular choices. Also, don't forget that Daylight Time changes to Standard Time at 2 am on Nov. 3rd. Set your clocks back one hour before the eclipse begins!

Sunrise is just the beginning. Next, the eclipse races across the Atlantic toward Africa where coverage reaches 100%. Inside a narrow path of totality, sky watchers can see the sun's ghostly corona spring out from behind the Moon. The dark core of the Moon's shadow will touch parts of several African nations including Gabon, the Congo, Uganda, Kenya, Ethiopia and Somalia. In those places, totality can be seen. Meanwhile, a partial eclipse will be visible across the entire continent.