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Australian
Sunset
Total Solar Eclipse
By Steve Edberg |
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Australia’s sunset totality offers eclipse observers
special views of eclipse events, and more!
As the Sun descends toward the horizon, the Moon will cover more and more
of it. The sky beneath the Sun gets darker as the Moon’s shadow approaches
and the crescent thins. A zone of darkness appears beneath the Sun and
then, as the remaining crescent disappears, it expands and envelops the
sky. Sunset colors appear all around. Looking back at the totally eclipsed
Sun, the Moon Illusion may come into play: just as the rising full moon
appears enormous near the horizon, so too may the eclipsed Sun, with the
corona flowering around it in a satiny sheen.
All too soon, totality ends but the show doesn’t. A look away from the
reappearing crescent, towards the east and up, shows the Moon’s shadow
racing away from Earth and back into space.
The crescent Sun thickens as it descends towards the horizon. If
conditions are right, Green Flash effects may be seen on various parts of
the crescent over the two-minute period that it descends beneath the
horizon.
Now, as the darkness deepens, think back to a regular sunset. This sunset
isn’t regular! The sky is already quite dark since the Moon is still
shadowing this part of our planet. It will be uncovering the Sun more
quickly than the Sun will be setting so observers will be treated to a
remarkable evening twilight: for a while, instead of darkening, twilight
will get brighter! Earth’s rotation finally wins out and the short, dark,
backwards twilight slips into a night bejeweled with the magnificent skies
of the southern hemisphere. |
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TRAVELQUEST INTERNATIONAL
Tel. ++928-445-7754 / USA & Canada: 800-830-1998
Fax ++928-445-8771
For additional information,
please contact TravelQuest International
at:
800-830-1998
or press here to request a brochure be sent
to your postal box.
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