World Colleges Information

Viewers in Africa and Australia were treated to a magnificent celestial phenomenon - a total solar eclipse on December 04. The only one in 2002!

The total eclipse of the sun was visible in a narrow corridor, which traversed the Southern Hemisphere. The path of the moon's umbral shadow began in the South Atlantic, swept through southern Africa, traversed the southern Indian Ocean, and then through southern Australia where it ended at sunset. Viewers in most of Africa, some parts of Indonesia, Australia and eastern Antarctica had to be satisfied with a partial eclipse within the much broader path of the Moon's penumbral shadow.

The eclipse started at around 0515 GMT near Luanda -Angola's capital, in the Atlantic Ocean and ended in Australia, in the evening at around 0912 GMT.

Traveling at about 5,000 kilometers an hour, the shadow sped across the African continent casting shadows over parts of Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe and South Africa before heading out to sea through Mozambique. Sky watchers in this area experienced total darkness, which lasted for around two minutes and four seconds.

The solar eclipse swooped down in Australia's fishing town Ceduna, west of Adelaide. The total darkness here lasted 33 seconds. This eclipse was the first to cover Australian shores since 1976, with the next not predicted for several more decades.

The total solar eclipse in November next year will grace Antarctica and bless only the brave who venture there to catch this celestial phenomena!

Solar eclipses demystified

Solar eclipses are one of those wonders of nature, which will leave us gazing and gasping forever. They don't occur very often, maybe just once a year, blessing a region and its people with temporary total darkness during the day!

A solar eclipse occurs when the moon is positioned between the earth and sun, thus blocking the sun's light from reaching the earth and plunging parts of the Earth's surface into temporary darkness.

There are basically three types of solar eclipses - total, partial and annular

Total - The entire central portion of the sun is blocked out.

Partial - Only part of the sun's surface is blocked out.

Annular - Only a small, ring-like sliver of light is seen from the sun's disc.

You will experience a total eclipse if the umbra (darker part of a shadow) passes over you. During a total solar eclipse, you can see the sun's outer atmosphere, called the corona. This is in fact, the most spectacular part and the only time that you can see the corona, which is why astronomers get so excited when a total eclipse is about to occur.

You will experience a partial eclipse if the penumbra (a partial or lightershadow around the darker shadow) passes over you and the sky may dim slightly depending on how much of the sun's disc is covered, for during a partial eclipse, only part of the sun's surface will be blocked out. 

In the case of annular eclipse (ring-like) the moon is so far away in its orbit that the umbra never reaches the earth. In this case, there is no region of totality, and you can see only a small, ring-like sliver of light from the sun's disc.

Tips for watching a solar eclipse

First and foremost never look at the sun directly - doing so can damage your eyes. The best way to observe the sun is by projecting the image. Here's how you can do it.

Get two pieces of cardboard (flaps from a box, backs of paper tablets).

With a pin or pencil point, poke a small hole in the center of one piece (no bigger than the pin or pencil point).

Take both pieces in your hand.

Stand with your back to the sun.

In one hand, hold the piece with the pinhole; place the other piece (the screen) behind it.

The sunlight will pass through the pinhole and form an image on the screen

Adjust the distance between the two pieces to focus and change the size of the image.