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| Hybrid Solar Eclipse |
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| Taurids Meteor Shower |
Welcome to the Saturday edition of Gem Steady’s blog with Intern BB! Can
you believe November is already here? As I mentioned in a previous post, we
have some exciting things brewing above us in the sky. Tomorrow morning, around
6:30 a.m. the hybrid solar eclipse will be visible in North America. This
eclipse is quite unique because it will start as an annular eclipse, develop
into a total eclipse and fade back into an annular eclipse near the end.
A total eclipse is a beautiful natural accident that happens due to a perfect
orbital plane intersection and just the right distance between the moon, earth
and sun. The sun is much larger than the moon, however the moon is a lot closer
to earth and when the distance is just right, the moon can appear to block out
the sun completely. A total eclipse can be expected about every 20 months, but
the viewing areas depend on where the moon casts its shadow. An annular eclipse
is somewhat similar to a total eclipse, however the sun is not far enough from
the moon to get completely blocked out. Lucky viewers of this type of eclipse
can see a ring of fire, which is the sun peeking out from behind the moon.
The hybrid eclipse is rare because the annular eclipse turns into a
total eclipse during different points of the eclipse path. While this eclipse
is rare and beautiful, use caution while observing and do not look directly
into the sun without protective eyewear. Eclipses are gorgeous after all, but I
don’t want anyone to burn their peepers!
If you miss out on the eclipse early Sunday, you may catch bits of the
taurids meteor shower Monday night through Tuesday morning. This shower
produces no more than 20 meteors per hour, however, taurids has been known to
produce surprisingly bright balls of fire, so it is worth looking for. It can
be difficult to pinpoint a peak time for this meteor shower, but it is
predicted to be just after midnight and a few hours past on Tuesday morning.
Will you be looking for the hybrid eclipse or the taurids meteor shower?
Share all of your star gazing pics and experiences with us!
Thank you all for reading and may
the rest of your weekend be wonderful!
Love Intern BB
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