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Ring of Fire eclipse: what we saw as it happened

THE sun was overshadowed by the moon in a rare eclipse that only a few places on Earth got to see. Here’s what it looked like around the country.

James Billington Technology Reporter
3 min read
April 29, 2014 - 5:41PM
NewsComAu
The Ring of Fire eclipse gracing our skies. Here’s how the country saw it.
The Ring of Fire eclipse gracing our skies. Here’s how the country saw it.

WE know the sun commands place at the centre of our Solar System but today it was also the centre of our attention as the Ring of Fire eclipse took place over Australian skies.

One of only a handful of places on Earth to see the event, sky gazers across Australia were given a partial view of a celestial event that transformed the sun. Sadly, only a remote part of Antarctica got the full view of the spectacle where as we saw only a partial covering. Still, it was pretty amazing.

MORE: BEST PLACES TO VIEW THE ECLIPSE

As the moon slowly creeped into position to nibble away at the sun from 0600 (GMT) here’s what the country saw as it unfolded:

But, uh oh. Clouds are coming...

It was a washout in Melbourne, too.

Hobart, the place where astronomers claimed would be the best place in Australia to view the eclipse, had a wonderful view.

However, in Newcastle the sun was in full view. This is what a live webcast from Slooh broadcast:

The sun is full and (left) what an annular eclipse should look like.
The sun is full and (left) what an annular eclipse should look like.
The eclipse juuuuust begins at the bottom right corner.
The eclipse juuuuust begins at the bottom right corner.
Moon moves further across
Moon moves further across

One industrious eclipse watcher from Adelaide does it safely

Progress 40 minutes in:

A little bit of cloud creeps in Western Australia, but still a stunning image.

As viewers in anywhere other than Antarctica we are only going to get a partial view and this is about as much as we’ll see from this eclipse.

About as far as the moon will cover the sun here in Australia. Rather disappointing.
About as far as the moon will cover the sun here in Australia. Rather disappointing.

In Perth clouds tried their best to spoil things but some still managed to get a good view.

The Perth Observatory also got a good look at the eclipse, but note the words ‘heavy cloud’.

What you could see if you have high-tech telescopes.
What you could see if you have high-tech telescopes.

After a clear morning in Sydney, clouds rolled over just in time for the eclipse, but patient viewers were rewarded for all their neck craning with a quick cloud clearing exposing a quick flash.

So, that was it folks. It wasn’t the big fiery ring we were hoping for but really, no one on the planet would have got that view. It still looked pretty cool as the moon took a chunk out of the sun but for most, all they got was a bunch of clouds and we feel for those who were let down.

Why is this eclipse so special?

Well, other than looking so unusual, unlike total solar eclipses where we’re plunged into semidarkness for a brief period of time, this rare annular eclipse results in only the outline of the sun to be seen like a flaming ring. But it’s unique as there has never been an annular eclipse so unaccessible. It has been jokingly nicknamed the ‘Penguin Eclipse” as it will only be seen by those animals in Antarctica to get the full view of the Ring of Fire -- if at all. There’s a chance it won’t be seen at all due to the event happening after sunset in the South Pole.

How does this happen?

The annular eclipse happens due to the moon being the furthest point away from earth as it passed the sun’s path. This means from our perspective on Earth it wasn’t big enough to fully cover the sun, instead slotting into its footprint and only blotting out the inner section.

To some astronomers this barely qualifies as an eclipse.

“In the pantheon of eclipses the most spectacular is the total eclipse, but they only occur once every 360 years,” said Bob Berman of Slooh.

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Original URL: https://www.news.com.au/technology/science/ring-of-fire-eclipse-what-we-saw-as-it-happened/news-story/7c1507ab0e6d75873c792d544a3b637b