Two weeks after the beautiful eclipse of the moon, sun, earth and moon will be aligned again, this time to give a solar eclipse. Where the lunar eclipse was only partial, but with Tongan almost centered in the middle of the visibility area, this time the eclipse is total, but with Tonga just at the rim of the visibility. Totality will occur on Mangaia, Tuamotu, Easter island and Southern America.

Nevertheless here a seizable fraction, 83% of the solar diameter will be covered, leaving the sun as a crescent only. But this all happens 8 minutes before the sunrise of Monday 12 July 2010. When the sun finally rises on Tongatapu at 7:18 that day we can only watch the final stages of the eclipse. Which still will take about an hour to complete though. Going northwards to Vava‘u shaves a few minutes off of this time, but also of the size of the eclipse. On Niuatoputapu the maximum is just at sunrise, but only 70% size.

In any case, if the day is clear it shall be for sure an impressive sight to see a partial eclipsed sun rising from the sea.

Still, take precautions if you intend to watch the phenomenon. Although the sun will be low on the horizon and partially hidden, its remaining light can be still bright enough to harm your eyes and irreversible blindness can occur if you keep on staring in it. Even one pair of sunglasses may not be enough to dim the light sufficiently.

Firitia,

firitia [at] tau [dot] olunga [dot] to