One week from Sunday brings a bit of a rare event, with a “hybrid” solar eclipse for much of the world to see. Most solar eclipses are either a “total” or “annular” eclipse, but this one brings a bit of each with it.
Xavier Jubier has a comprehensive page of eclipse data that you can view in Google Earth, include a KMZ file
for the eclipse this Sunday.
You can also view Xavier’s data in Google Maps by using this link.
The uniqueness of the eclipse is described well by Sky & Telescope:
When the Moon passes directly between the Sun and Earth, the usual outcome is either a total or annular solar eclipse. But the event on November 3rd is something of a hybrid. At the point in the North Atlantic where the Moon’s umbral shadow begins its dash across Earth, about 600 miles (1,000 km) east of Jacksonville, Florida, an extremely well-placed observer would get to see a vestigial ring of Sun surrounding the Moon’s silhouette for a few fleeting seconds just after sunrise.
Check out their article for more information, use Xavier’s files to see if it’s an event you’ll be able to witness from your house, then head out Sunday to see it firsthand if you’re in the path.
About Mickey Mellen
Mickey has been using Google Earth since it was released in 2005, and has created a variety of geo-related sites including Google Earth Hacks. He runs a web design firm in Marietta, GA, where he lives with his wife and two kids.
Cool and awsome
A report of the 44,500 feet private eclipse flight out of Bermuda is available there:
http://xjubier.free.fr/en/site_pages/solar_eclipses/HSE_20131103_pg02_EFlight.html
On 2015 March 20 another private stratospheric eclipse flight at 49,000 feet will be organized over the Northern Atlantic Ocean east of Iceland:
http://xjubier.free.fr/en/site_pages/solar_eclipses/TSE_20150320_pg02_EFlight.html