Moon Bite

The event is known as an annular
eclipse, when the moon moves directly
between the Earth and the sun,
producing a striking ring of fire effect.
During annular eclipses, the new
moon's apparent diameter is smaller
than the visible disk of the sun. (See
annular eclipse pictures.)
Since the moon's orbit is elliptical, its
distance from Earth changes
periodically. During an annular eclipse,
the moon is farther from Earth, so its
apparent size is smaller than the solar
disk.
Today's annular eclipse first appeared
over Western Australia at sunrise and
swept across portions of Papua New
Guinea and the Solomon Islands,
before crossing much of the Pacific
Ocean.
Eclipse expert and National Geographic
grantee Jay Pasachoff staked out a
viewing spot in Australia's outback
along the path of annularity along with
over a hundred other eclipse-watchers
from around the world.
"We can report good success in
observing 4 minutes and 20 seconds
of full annularity at the eclipse today,"
he said in an email to National
Geographic.
"Much of the eclipse was viewed
through thin clouds, though rarely
after the first few minutes was the
sun obscured."
—Andrew Fazekas
Published May 10, 2013
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