APOD: 2010 July 14 - Easter Island Eclipse (original) (raw)

Astronomy Picture of the Day

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2010 July 14

Easter Island Eclipse
Credit & Copyright: Stéphane Guisard(Los Cielos de America),TWAN

Explanation: Makemake, a god in Easter Island mythology, may have smiled for a moment as clouds parted long enough to reveal this glimpse ofJuly 11's total solar eclipse to skygazers. In the foreground ofthe dramatic scene, the island's famous large, monolithic statues (Moai)share a beachside view of the shimmeringsolar corona and thedarkened daytime sky. Other opportunities to see the total phase of thiseclipse of the Sun were also hard to come by. Defined by the dark part of theMoon's shadow, thepath of totality tracked eastward across the southern Pacific Ocean, only making significant landfall atMangaia (Cook Islands) andEaster Island (Isla de Pascua), ending shortly after reaching southern Chile and Argentina. But a partial eclipse phase could be enjoyed over a broader region,including manysouthern Pacific islands and wide swath of South America.

Tomorrow's picture: over the Andes

Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff(MTU) &Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
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