Eclipse viewing at Cuddledown
During the wee hours of Sunday, November 3, 2013, daylight savings time ends, gaining us an hour of sleep, at least in our minds. Harvard Medical School discusses why you really don’t gain that hour, and tips on how to adjust your sleep schedule.
In addition, there’s also a rare “hybrid” partial solar eclipse that can be viewed beginning at 5:19 a.m. EST (maximum viewing time is 6:13 a.m. with 61% coverage).
Normally you couldn’t get me out of my cozy, Cuddledown-enhanced bed on a Sunday at that early hour unless there was a fire or some other crisis… however, with the added hour of sleep… perhaps?
Partial Solar Eclipse, Austin, TX, 2012 - credit: mrlaugh’s photostream
The “hybrid” solar eclipse will be visible from the East Coast here, to Europe, all the way to parts of Africa and the Middle East, according to EarthSky.com. The eclipse will begin over North America at sunrise and will move east through sunset on Sunday evening.
Unlike a total eclipse, or an annular eclipse (where the moon covers all but a bright ring around the circumference of the sun), this eclipse is a hybrid. It starts as an annular eclipse before the Moon’s orbit gets close enough to Earth to become a total eclipse. Of course here on the East Coast, we’ll just see a partial eclipse. Of the nearly 12,000 solar eclipses that have occurred since 1999 BC, fewer than five percent are hybrid eclipses, according to a report from Universe Today.
So don’t forget to turn your clock back when you go to bed (by 2:00 a.m. on Sunday). And if you are an early bird, or would love to see the rarely-occurring eclipse, either stay up, or get up early and enjoy (with safe viewing glasses of course – whatever you do, do NOT look directly at the eclipse!)
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