June 8, 2002
Long before your first heartbeat, stars were busy forging the elements you would one day call your own.
A Fleeting Eclipse
Birthday · June 8, 2002
A little universe, just for you
Your date.
Ready to give.
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APOD published June 8, 2002. Credit: Olivier Staiger. A publication-date match, not a photo taken on your date. Independent of NASA.
A lunar eclipse can be viewed in a leisurely fashion. Visible to anyone on the night side of planet Earth (weather permitting), totality often lasts an hour or so as the moon glides through the Earth's shadow. But a solar eclipse is more fleeting. Totality can last a few minutes only for those fortunate enough to stand in the path of the Moon's shadow as it races across the Earth's surface. For the April 29, 1995 annular solar eclipse, photographer Olivier Staiger was standing in Macara, Ecuador under partially cloudy skies. Just before the maximum annular eclipse phase he recorded this dramatic moment as a bird flew near the sun. The next solar eclipse, on June 10, will also be an annular one. Partial phases will be visible from eastern Asia, the Pacific Ocean and much of North America. Very accurate predictions of eclipses have long been possible.
Image credit: Olivier Staiger