Eclipse in Micronesia
The Exploratorium presented a real-time webcast of the total solar eclipse from Micronesia. We sent a production crew thousands of miles by plane and by boat to the coral island of Woleai, in the Pacific Ocean 500 miles north of New Guinea, to bring you this astronomical event. Here is the archive of the live program, complete with a spectacular eclipse!
Total Solar Eclipse – March 8/9, 2016
Movement of March 2016 Total Solar Eclipse Shadow (Animation)
The moon will pass in front of the sun, casting its shadow over much of Southeast Asia on March 8, 2016 EST (March 9 local time). People on the nearly 100-mile-wide path of totality will experience a total solar eclipse, in which all of the sun’s bright face is blocked by the moon, while people outside this path will see varying degrees of a partial eclipse.
Credit: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center/E. Wright
Path of March 2016 Total Solar Eclipse (Animation)
A solar eclipse occurs when the moon’s shadow falls on Earth. The shadow comprises two concentric cones called the umbra and the penumbra. Within the smaller, central umbra, the sun is completely blocked by the moon, and anyone inside the umbra sees a total eclipse, as shown in this artist rendition of the March 2016 total solar eclipse. People in the outer cone, the penumbra, will see only a partial solar eclipse.
Credit: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center/E. Wright