Partial solar eclipse Sunday morning

Nov. 2, 2013 at 4:32 PM
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NEW YORK, Nov. 2 (UPI) -- Early-risers on the East Coast -- and those in parts of Europe and Africa -- will be able see a rare solar eclipse Sunday morning.

Those in the eastern portion of the United States can see a partial eclipse beginning shortly after sunrise, scheduled for 6:30 a.m. EST.

Get up early enough, with an unobstructed view of the eastern horizon, and you could see a sunrise with about 60 percent of the sun obscured as the moon passes between Earth and the sun, The New York Times reported Saturday.

The best viewing is expected in the southeast United States where clear skies are predicted.

Farther east over the Atlantic and in parts of Africa the eclipse will be a total one, with the moon passing directly between Earth and the sun.

USA Today said there won't be another total eclipse until 2017. This will be the final partial eclipse of 2013.

There are various types of solar eclipses. Viewed from Earth, the moon and the sun appear about the same size despite the sun being much larger. Sometimes when the orbits align for an eclipse the moon doesn't fully cover up the sun leaving a ring of sunlight around the moon. This is known as an annular eclipse.

The moon's orbit around Earth is elliptical, so sometimes when it aligns with the sun it does fully block out the sun. This is known as a total eclipse.

Sunday's eclipse will begin as an annular but eventually will fully cover the sun. This is known as a hybrid eclipse.

Sun-gazers are reminded to wear special ultraviolet filtering glasses or use a pinhole device to project the eclipse onto a sheet of paper. Staring into the sun otherwise -- even with sunglasses on -- can burn the retinas.

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