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Given that the vast majority of my readers are in the US, I waited until the last minute to post about the eclipse tonight, seeing as how it’s happening over Africa and Asia. Also, I’m lazy.
The eclipse starts around 08:30 Universal Time and runs through about noon UT (in 03:30 - 07:00 Eastern US time). Granted that’s a wee bit late at night for us here in the States (stupid Earth, turning its back on the eclipse!), but you can still watch it live on the web.
First, if you’re not sure about what an eclipse is and how they work, then head over to Sky and Telescope webpage which has loads of info.
If you want to watch it over the web, there are lots of resources. Here are a few good ones:
- NASA (yes, NASA)
- The Exploratorium, a great kids science exploration place in San Francisco. For the uber-geeks, the Exploratorium also has a feed that will go into Second Life. Wow.
- The Chabot Space and Science Center in Oakland, California
- Lots more webcams are listed on the Sky and Tel website.
By the way, there is a lot of misinformation about eclipses. For example, there has never been a single reported case, ever, or total, permanent blindness from looking at the Sun. You can be partially blinded, but you’d have to work pretty hard to go totally blond. Still, looking at the Sun without correct protection is not too bright (hahahaha) because you can do some damage. Again, Sky and Tel has a list of ways to view an eclipse safely.
Also, if you’re pregnant, it’s still OK to watch, despite some really weird rumors (bottom of that page).’
