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APOD
Astronomy Picture of the Day
Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer.
Annular Eclipse over Patagonia
Explanation: Can you find the Sun? OK, but can you explain why there's a big dark spot in the center? The spot is the Moon , and the impressive alignment shown, where the Moon lines up inside the Sun , is called an annular solar eclipse . Such an eclipse occurred just last week and was visible from a thin swath mostly in Earth 's southern hemisphere. The featured image was captured from Patagonia , Chile . When the Moon is significantly closer to the Earth and it aligns with the Sun, a total solar eclipse is then visible from parts of the Earth. Annular eclipses are slightly more common than total eclipses, but as the Moon moves slowly away from the Earth , before a billion more years , the Moon's orbit will no longer bring it close enough for a total solar eclipse to be seen from anywhere on Earth .
Gallery: Annular Eclipse of October 2024
| Date | October 8, 2024 |
|---|---|
| Credit | Image Credit & Copyright: Alexis Trigo |
| Authors & editors: | Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP) |
| A service of: |
ASD at NASA / GSFC, NASA Science Activation & Michigan Tech. U. |