Saturday, October 5

A total solar eclipse almost exclusive to scientists


Fotografía cedida por Imagen Chile que muestra a dos visitantes en una moto para el hielo en el Glaciar Unión. A partir de las 7:00 GMT de este sábado la Luna se interpondrá ante el Sol y comenzará a proyectar una sombra sobre la Tierra hasta producir un eclipse solar total cuando las tres esferas queden alineadas en recta, un fenómeno que podrá ser visto en su plenitud desde la Antártida, que acoge estos días a grupos de científicos para su observación.
Photo provided by Imagen Chile that shows two visitors on an ice scooter at the Unión Glacier. From 7: 00 GMT this Saturday the Moon will interpose itself before the Sun and will begin to cast a shadow on the Earth until producing a total solar eclipse when the three spheres are aligned in a straight line, a phenomenon that may be seen in its fullness from Antarctica, which welcomes groups of scientists for observation these days.

Photo: Felipe Trueba / EFE

EFE

By: EFE

The total solar eclipse Saturday will be an almost exclusive astronomical spectacle for a handful of scientists, since will only be visible in its totality phase from Antarctica , where very small teams of researchers work that occupy the permanent bases that some countries have.

Very few people will be able to see the total solar eclipse , but some institutions or research centers, including NASA, have scheduled live broadcasts of this phenomenon through their official channels thanks to the collaboration of some of scientists integrated in scientific expeditions now taking place in the Antarctic region.

Partially, and according to data from National Astronomical Observatory , the eclipse will be visible in some some very southern places in the southern hemisphere starting at 5: 29 hours (Universal Time or UTC), when the phenomenon can be observed in places far south of the Atlantic Ocean, and will last until 9: 37, although at that time it will only be possible to appreciate south of Tasmania (Australia) .

The “totality” phase of the eclipse will begin at 7: 00 (UTC) at a point in the Atlantic Ocean located east of the Falkland Islands; will cross the Weddel Sea and West Antarctica and will end at 8: 04 at a point in the Antarctic Ocean located in front of the Gezt Ice Barrier (in Antarctica).

The eclipse will occur when the Moon comes between the Earth and the Sun

, which will cause a shadowing in those areas, which will be much more pronounced during the totality phase in the Antarctic region.

Although it is “only” one more among the 200, 000 millions of stars in the Milky Way, the Sun is the closest to Earth and the brightest star from Earth, so eclipses, and especially “totals” such as the one that will be recorded tomorrow , are especially interesting for the scientific community since they allow, according to the Institute Astrophysicist of the Canary Islands (IAC) perform a wide variety of experiments and observations.

The ec lipses facilitate the study of the solar corona and make very high precision measurements on the solar diameter , since that the beginning and the end of the “total” phase offer – underlines the IAC – precise references to carry out these measurements and to advance in an essential question for scientists: if the size of the Sun varies with time.

All scientific institutions insist on the importance, to make a safe observation, of take measures and use appropriate means even when the sun is partially – or mostly – obscured, and NASA has insisted, before the astronomical event, in which it is not safe to look directly at the Sun and in that normal sunglasses are not safe either.

NASA has stressed that it is only safe to look go directly to the Sun without adequate protection during the short period of time in which the moon completely obscures the star, but it has implied that it is “crucial” to know when to remove that protection and use it again.

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