Visual Astronomy

The Flag Still Stands

2009-10-30T11:13:00.001-04:00

NASA's LRO lunar probe took this picture of the Apollo 17 landing site. Labeled in the image, you can still see the American flag! Of course, we would expect it to remain standing, since there's no wind on the moon, but it's cool to actually see it!

Now we just need boots on the moon again, to take a picture from ground level!

Clear skies!

Reader Submitted Orionid Image

2009-10-25T19:08:00.001-04:00

This image was sent to me by Paul Newport. It shows an Orionid with some wonderful coloration!

Got images of your own you'd like to see here? E-mail them to me at sean@visualastronomy.com!

Orionid Observations?

2009-10-22T09:25:00.001-04:00

Well, I had some nice cloudy skies for the Orionids... Did any of you get good observations of the Orionids during their peak? If so, feel free to leave comments or e-mail me. If you have any pictures or video, send them to sean@visualastronomy.com and I'll post them up on Visual Astronomy!

Clear skies!

Time-lapse Astrophotography of the Milky Way

2009-10-17T15:21:00.002-04:00

Found this video on StumbleUpon today, and thought it was really cool and that I would share it with all of you!

Galactic Center of Milky Way Rises over Texas Star Party from William Castleman on Vimeo.

(Some feed readers may need to click through to view the video)

Clear skies!

The Great World Wide Star Count

2009-10-15T09:40:00.003-04:00

Got a few minutes and clear skies? You can help contribute to an annual citizen science project, the Great World Wide Star Count! As a part of the "Windows to the Universe" program of the International Year of Astronomy, the Great World Wide Star Count runs from October 9-23, 2009. The purpose of the star count is to determine world wide light pollution levels. Each year, the study is repeated, so that we can see the effects of light pollution across the world!

Getting Involved

Being part of the World Wide Star Count is actually very easy. To submit your observations, simply follow the instructions on their website. Basically, you will download a series of magnitude charts, that show an easily identifiable constellation. Then you simply match which magnitude chart best fits the view you have from your location. Then, just submit this observation, along with your location and time, and you will have contributed to a great citizen science project!

The image above shows last year's results, which are then compared to the previous years results to gain a better understanding of changing light pollution levels. One aim of this project is to bring awareness of light pollution levels to the public, hopefully resulting in better lighting practices and regulations.

Clear skies!

LCROSS Lunar Impact

2009-10-09T11:58:00.000-04:00

NASA's LCROSS Lunar probe made it's intentional lunar impact this morning. Below, you can see a video of the impact taken from the spacecraft itself. Unfortunately, the impact did not make a visible plume, as expected. Even the huge telescopes at Lick, Mauna Kea, and Palomar didn't observe a plume, so if you didn't see the plume, you didn't miss anything!

Some feed readers may have to click through to view the video.

One telescope, the MMTO at Mount Hopkins, Arizona, did capture a video of the impact, which although fuzzy, gets the idea across.

I'll post any more videos I find, but it looks like this might be it.

Clear skies!

Upcoming Event: Orionid Meteor Shower 09

2009-10-06T19:20:00.010-04:00

The Orionid meteor shower is expected to reach peak activity this year on October 21st, 2009. This meteor shower comes from Halley's Comet, since like most comets, it leaves a dusty trail as it orbits the sun. The particles in this trail eventually become meteors as they burn up in our atmosphere.

The Orionids have been producing rather bright meteors in the recent past, so it should be a good show. The shower reached a maximum of only 20-30 meteors per hour last year, but is still a worthwhile observing event! This is because the Orionids typically are very colorful meteors, sometimes being yellow or green, and sometimes even producing fireballs called bolides. Also, this year's shower will be perfectly timed with a very thin crescent Moon, so the views of the meteors won't be impeded by moonlight!

When and Where Should I Look?

As usual, the best time to observe a meteor shower is during the early morning hours, around 2-5 AM. This is because as the Earth rotates into the sunlight, we are moving into the meteor field. This increases the number of meteors entering our atmosphere over any given location. Of course, not everone wants to stay up that late, so if you don't plan on doing so, start watching for the meteors at local dusk, and they'll really start to pick up towards 11 PM or midnight. The Orionids have a very broad peak, so any night during the week of October 18th to October 24th will work for obesrving.

To find the direction you should look, simply find the constellation Orion. It is one of the most recognizable constellations in the sky, mostly due to the 3 bright stars that make up his belt. Look for three stars in a straight line somewhere between SW and SE depending on the time. There will also be an hourglass shape along with this "belt". This will be the direction that the meteors will appear to come from. Click for information on finding Orion and objects in it.

For more updates like this, subscribe via RSS or via e-mail!

If you have any observations, pictures, or videos, submit them here.

Clear skies!

See the LCROSS Lunar Impact!

2009-10-05T15:51:00.002-04:00

The Impact Has Already Occurred!

See Videos

On Friday, October 9, at 11:30 UTC, our Moon will have a new crater! The source of this new crater will be NASA's LCROSS (Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite) spacecraft. The LCROSS system is composed of two spacecraft: an impactor, and the "shepherding" craft. The impactor will slam into the Moon's surface at a very high speed, creating a new crater. Four minutes later, the shepherd craft will fly through the plume of Moon dust created by the impactor, sampling the freshly excavated Lunar soil. In light of the recent finding of faint traces of water on the Moon, this is a very significant mission! The coolest part, however, is that you should be able to see the impact from home in telescopes 10" or larger!

How Can I See the Impact?

The impact will occur on Oct 9, 2009 at 11:30 a.m. UTC. For US readers, this is 4:30 Pacific, and 7:30 Eastern. The dust plume will be in the Moon's South Polar Region, so point your telescope there. Viewers that will have a night-time view of the impact will have the best chance of actually seeing the impact. Viewers in the Eastern time zone in the US may not be able to see it, as the sun will be rising at just about the same time.

NASA also recommends a telescope of at least 10". While under good conditions, an 8" telescope might work, a 10" very well may be the practical limit. Binoculars and the naked eye also will not be sufficient to see the dust plume.

What If I Don't Have a 10" Telescope?!

If you don't have access to a telescope that large, however, you can still attend one of NASA's public viewing parties, or find a local amateur viewing party! Some viewers will even be able to watch the event on NASA TV. In all, it should be a great event!

For more details on the actual impact, check this page on the impact plans.

Clear skies!

MESSENGER Flyby Images

2009-09-30T14:22:00.034-04:00

This collection of images was taken by NASA's MESSENGER Mercury spacecraft on it's 3rd flyby of the planet Mercury. The probe is scheduled to enter permanent orbit around Mercury on March 18, 2011. These are just the first images to become available, so check again soon to see more!

The impact basin shown above has never been imaged before MESSENGER's 3rd flyby. It is, as of this writing, unnamed. The double rings in this crater are what make it so interesting.

The above image from MESSENGER's WAC, or Wide Angle Camera, shows areas of Mercury that have never been imaged before.

This image is a high-resolution mosaic, composed of 62 individual shots with MESSENGER's NAC, or Narrow Angle Camera. It shows smooth plains extending to the horizon. Scientists will be examining this image in further detail in the near future.

This unnamed crater appears to have exposed an ancient lava tube.

This is the third time this mysterious bright spot has been imaged on Mercury, but this is by far the best quality image yet!

Another double ring impact basin.

This image shows the same crater twice, one from MESSENGER's second flyby, and once from the probe's third flyby.

The crater above exhibits a fine example of ejecta and crater chains! These are created by the debris, called ejecta, that is strewn from the crater on impact.

This crater looks like a paw print!

The map above shows the total imaging coverage of the Mariner mission, and MESSENGER's 3 flybys.

The relatively lower amount of craters on this smooth plain shows that it must be quite younger than the rest of the planet, indicating past geological activity.

Above, you can see the "terminator", or the region where day turns to night. Interestingly, on Mercury, the day lasts longer than the year. One year on Mercury is just a little shy of 88 Earth-days, while a day on Mercury is equivalent to just short of 116 Earth-days!

Break out your 3D glasses for this one! This is a composite image of the crater 'Rembrandt' and was composed from two images taken on MESSENGER's 2nd and 3rd flybys.

This mosaic was created by combining 66 NAC (Narrow Angle Camera) images to create one giant high-resolution picture. If you want the full resolution image, right click the following link and do a "Save As..." Full Resolution (20 MB) This image is 20 MB so if you have a slow connection it may take quite a while to download. Image courtesy of: NASA/JHUAPL/CIW/Jason Perry

MESSENGER has discovered many craters like the one above, that have pits in their floors. This is theorized to be evidence of past volcanism on Mercury. Magma forms underground chambers and tubes as it flows. Then, when impacted, some of these ancient tubes collapse to form these pits.

This image captures several of Mercury's geological features in one frame.

This image shows more of those smooth plains formed by volcanic activity in Mercury's distant past.

This image shows the rim of the crater Rembrandt (highlighted in red) and two surrounding scarps, in yellow and blue.

More pictures will be available in the near future, so check back often! Until then, check out pictures from MESSENGER's other flybys.

All images courtesy of NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Carnegie Institution of Washington, except where noted otherwise.

Twitter and the MESSENGER Flyby

2009-09-30T11:06:00.002-04:00

NASA's MESSENGER spacecraft has had many firsts. Among these firsts (other than the actual science mission) is the impact that social media has had on perception of the mission. Twitter, in particular, has had a large presence in the MESSENGER coverage. Many of the scientists and fellows involved in the actual flyby have been "tweeting" their updates of what's happening, live. Never before have so many people been directly notified of such enormous details of NASA missions. One such Twitter user is @porchdragon. He also has a blog, called DragonPhysics, where he writes:

A crowded room room filled with a large center table. MESSENGER Fellows occupy that table looking at their laptops. People surrounding them eating and talking with each other. The Fellows are introduced to everyone as they come in – and their role in this event is explained.”To broadcast to the world what is happening here at the flyby.”

Click here for the full article

Follow @porchdragon or myself (@VisualAstronomy) on Twitter!

Clear skies!

Video of Earth from MESSENGER

2009-09-28T22:14:00.007-04:00

Some of you may have seen this video before, but I just saw it for the first time today. It is a video of Earth, taken by the MESSENGER spacecraft as it made a flyby of Earth on it's journey to Mercury. This is not a CGI, but a real video from the spacecraft. The video comprises one full rotation of the Earth.

Video courtesy of: NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Carnegie Institution of Washington.

Some RSS feed readers may have to click through to the article to see the attached video.

Clear skies!

MESSENGER Nears Mercury for 3rd Flyby

2009-09-28T11:55:00.004-04:00

Well, it's almost that time again: time for another MESSENGER Mercury Flyby! Wednesday, at 5:55 PM EST, MESSENGER will make a close approach of 228 kilometers (142 miles) above Mercury. The image below is the first image to come back of the approach. I'll post pics of the approach as soon as I get them!

For pictures from past flybys, click here.

Clear skies!

SETI@Home and Distributed Computing

2009-09-27T14:40:00.005-04:00

If you're like me, you've always wanted to make some kind of contribution to science. Most people though, don't have the time or the position to make a significant contribution. These days, however, anyone can make a contribution, by donating their spare CPU cycles! I've got my computer set up to crunch numbers for SETI, and you can too!

Running SETI@Home is actually quite easy! Basically, you download a program onto your computer, and tell it to attach to the SETI@Home project. The program, called BOINC (Berkeley Open Infrastructure for Network Computing), automatically goes out to the internet and fetches files called work units to your computer. Then, when your computer would otherwise be sitting around doing nothing, it crunches numbers for SETI!That's right, real-life SETI data is being analyzed on home computers all around the world, as I type this! So SETI only runs (by default) when you're not on your computer.

It turns out that the millions of PC's on this BOINC network have FAR more combined computing power than the world's best super-computers. To take advantage of this, SETI splits up it's workload into many small files that can be completed quickly by the average PC. BOINC also awards "credit" for work done, so it kind of becomes a competition to see who can do the most "average credit", and you can even join teams.

So How Do I Get SETI@Home?

It's actually quite easy!

Download and install the BOINC Client

When prompted, enter the URL: http://setiathome.berkeley.edu

SETI@Home will automatically fetch work for itself!

Is SETI the Only Science I Can Do?

No! There are numerous BOINC applications, all of which run inside the BOINC client! You can run more than one at a time, too. I personally run SETI@Home, and another science project called Einstein@Home. So you can basically pick and choose what organizations to donate CPU cycles to.

For a list of projects you can donate to, check out BOINC's list of programs.

Is BOINC Computing For Me?

Well, if you like to contribute to science, and don't want to do the math, BOINC distributed computing is for you! There are a few people who will not want to run BOINC, however. See, BOINC will peg your CPU to 100% for hours on end, when you're not using your computer. So if your computer is on it's last leg, BOINC probably will finish it off. BOINC also heats up the CPU pretty good. So if you have an el-cheapo computer or laptop, BOINC is not for you. Just be aware that your computer's temperature will go up when you run BOINC, and be prepared for any problems that might cause.

Personally, I've run BOINC on 5 or 6 computers. Some of them were very old and shaky, but still ran fine. Just be sure to keep it clean and dust free inside the computer and it should be able to handle it. SETI might also not be for you if you're the kind of person that likes to save every kWh of electricity you can. Your computer will use a little more power while running SETI, so also be aware of that. Also, NEVER install BOINC on a work computer without written permission from your system administrator.

For more details on how SETI@Home works: click here.

Got questions or want to talk about SETI@Home and BOINC? Leave a comment below!

Clear skies!

Welcome to Autumn!

2009-09-23T09:57:00.002-04:00

Well, apparently it's been a while since I've edited the blog. Truth is, I've had a lot of stuff to do recently. On finding no jobs in the electrical engineering field, I decided to go back to grad school at Ohio State University. Today is the first day of classes and I'm just relaxing in the new library. I hope to update the blog more often starting now, as I should have a bit more free time available between classes.

The Autumnal Equinox was yesterday, Sept. 22nd, so it is officially autumn, and it really feels like it at night here in Ohio!

Clear skies!

Happy Birthday, Telescope!

2009-08-25T12:35:00.004-04:00

400 years ago today, an invention was made that would change the world forever. Invented on August 25^th, 1609, by the Italian astronomer Galileo Galilei, the telescope would forever revolutionize the world of science!

Originally born as a spyglass, the first "telescopes" were quite simple. They typically only had magnifications of 3x or so. Galileo's first telescope was also quite simple, having a magnification of only 8x. He later refined the design of this telescope to have a magnification of 20x. Galileo used these telescopes to make such important observations as the Moon's surface, the Moons of Jupiter, the phases of Venus, and Sunspots. Galileo even noted "appendages" on Saturn, which turned out to be the giant planet's famed ring system.

So celebrate this birthday by getting your telescope out and observing Jupiter or the Moon! Today's telescope technology is much more advanced than in Galileo's time, but remember where it came from, it's simple beginnings as homemade spyglasses!

Happy 400^th Birthday, Telescope!!

Astronomy Calendar, August 2009

2009-08-03T23:31:00.003-04:00

The following is a list of celestial events occurring in August 2009.

August 5 - Penumbral lunar eclispe centered at 00:39 UTC.

August 6 - Jupiter is 3 degrees south of the Moon.

August 12 - The Perseid meteor shower peaks at 18:00 UTC. The Perseids are expected to produce up to 100 meteors per hour this year. This is definitely a meteor shower you won't want to miss!

August 14 - Jupiter is at opposition at 18:00 UTC. This is the best time to view Jupiter, as it is the closest Earth will approach the planet. Thus, Jupiter will appear its largest and brightest that it will all year.

August 17 - Neptune is at opposition at 21:00 UTC. If you're going to look for Neptune, this is definitely the time to do so.

August 19 - Double Galilean shadow transit occurs at 23:47 UTC.

August 24 - Mercury is at its greatest eastern elongation at 16:00 UTC. This is the time at which the planet will appear furthest from the Sun from our point of view. This is one of the best times to observe Mercury; just be careful that the Sun is not in the telescope's field of view.

August 27 - Double Galilean shadow transit begins at 02:42 UTC.

Clear skies!

Looks Like it Was an Impact!

2009-07-23T23:37:00.003-04:00

Recently, I informed you about a "possible" Jupiter impact, similar to the Shoemaker-Levy 9 impact of 1994. Sure enough, NASA has captured this infrared image (at right) of the impact zone, showing that it most likely is an impact!

This impact was discovered by Anthony Wesley of Australia, an amateur astronomer, using a 14.5" f/5 Newtonian reflector. Reports are flooding in from amateur and professional astronomers from around the world, so there's no shortage of confirmation of the event!

Want to See It?

The dark spot left by the impactor can be seen at a latitude of about 60 degrees South in Jupiter's south polar region. With decent seeing, most backyard telescopes should be able to see the dark spot. To see the dark spot, visit the Lackawanna Astronomical Society's page showing when to view the dark spot! I wish I could observe this event, but we're under a low pressure system right now and won't be cloud free until it's gone! So if you've got any observations, post a comment!

Clear skies!

July 22 Solar Eclipse Pictures

2009-07-22T16:36:00.005-04:00

Here, I have assembled a collection of images of the July 22nd, 2009 total solar eclipse. These pictures are from members of Flickr. To view the Flickr page of the respective pictures, just click on them. I also have a couple of cool videos here.

A view of totality. As you can see in the next pictures, even thin cloud cover didn't stop people from snapping pics!

Clear skies!

July 22nd 2009 Solar Eclipse Video

2009-07-22T01:07:00.007-04:00

Video of the solar eclipse on July 22^nd, 2009 from India, Southeast Asia, and China. With an incredibly long totality of 6 minutes and 39 seconds, this solar eclipse was the longest solar eclipse until 2132! Totality occured at 2:35 UTC, July 22^nd, 2009. Also check out these pictures of the eclipse.

Click here for more information.

I'll post more pictures and video as I find them.

Clear skies!

Possible Jupiter Impact?

2009-07-19T23:55:00.009-04:00

A new black spot has appeared on the face of Jupiter on July 19th, 2009! First discovered by Anthony Wesley (an amateur astronomer), this black spot could possibly be a new Jupiter impact, akin to the Shoemaker-Levy 9 impacts of 1994. According to Wesley,

"...My next thought was that it must be either a dark moon (like Callisto) or a moon shadow, but it was in the wrong place and the wrong size. Also I'd noticed it was moving too slow to be a moon or shadow. As far as I could see it was rotating in sync with a nearby white oval storm that I was very familiar with - this could only mean that the back feature was at the cloud level and not a projected shadow from a moon. I started to get excited..."

This theory, however, is still just that, a theory, as the observations have not yet been confirmed. The image below was captured by Wesley using a 14.5" f/5 Newtonian telescope. Note the black spot at the "top" of Jupiter, which is actually the South Polar Region.

Image captured by Anthony Wesley (Click for more details).

On a side note, I've been noticing that Twitter is far more useful for quick spread of news than the big news networks. Most of the recent news (including this story), I've received from Twitter hours or days before the major news networks... Thanks @Discovery_Space!

UPDATE

Looks like NASA has infrared observations on this event, and they're calling it an impact. More details here.

Clear skies!

Dobsonian Altitude Brake Mod

2009-07-18T00:04:00.006-04:00

It's been a while since I posted a telescope mod article, so I figure'd I'd share this mod, submitted by a reader, Clay Cooper. Basically, he replaced the bolt that holds the springs with a 1/4-20 bolt with a knob and a washer. A simple and elegant solution to the pesky springs, this mod also allows adjustment of the altitude tension "on the fly". Check out the pics below to see!

If you've got any cool mods of your own, send 'em in to sean@visualastronomy.com!

Clear skies!

Apollo Program 40th Anniversary

2009-07-16T12:09:00.007-04:00

The 40^th anniversary of the Apollo moon landings is approaching, and many groups are having celebrations and commemorations. Apollo 11 landed on July 20, 1969, so this July 20^th will mark the 40^th anniversary of the first boots on the Moon. Looking forward, we are going back to the moon. The Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter is already preparing our path back to the moon, with the end goal this time of a permanent Lunar settlement. A Lunar base camp would allow us to study the Moon and stars in greater detail than ever before, and may be used as a "rest stop" on the way to Mars. Below, you will find a list of links and resources on the 40^th anniversary of the Apollo landings.

NASA's 40th Anniversary Page

List of 40th Anniversary Events

Apollo 11 Page on Wikipedia

Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter

Discovery Channel and other news and cable channels have specials throughout the anniversary period

Apollo Plus 40 on Twitter

If you've got any events that you would like added to the list, just leave a comment!

Clear skies!

Help Solve an Astronomical Mystery!

2009-07-13T23:26:00.010-04:00

Have you ever wanted to make a contribution to real science? Well, now you can, with the Citizen Sky Project!

The Citizen Sky project is an attempt to solve a 175 year-old mystery. Every 27.1 years, the star Epsilon Aurigae undergoes an eclipse. Astronomers have been studying this star for over 175 years, yet still don't fully understand the nature of its eclipsing object. Citizen Sky has more information on Epsilon Aurigae here. The problem is that the star is so bright that it cannot be observed with most large professional telescopes. So, the task has been assigned to amateur astronomers everywhere to help with observation during Epsilon Aurigae's next eclipse in August 2009!

Joining Citizen Sky is open to anyone, regardless of your previous experience in astronomy. Heck, you don't even need a telescope to observe Epsilon Aurigae!! According to citizensky.org:

"Citizen Sky welcomes everyone to be a citizen scientist. We will guide you through the process of how to observe epsilon Aurigae, how to send us your observations, and then how to see your results, analyze them, and even publish them in a scientific journal!! No previous experience is required. We hope that this project will involve thousands of people all over the world in real, active scientific research."

-- citizensky.org

So join Citizen Sky and make a difference in astronomy! I've already joined, and will be making observations whenever possible!

Clear skies!

Constellation Showcase: Hercules

2009-07-10T14:38:00.010-04:00

Welcome to this month's Constellation Showcase! This monthly segment details a currently viewable constellation, typically somewhere along the ecliptic or high in the Northern sky. This month we're going on a tour of Hercules, the Roman Hero!

In the star chart to the right, you can see the constellation Hercules. Hercules isn't a very bright constellation, but it contains a few interesting stars and clusters. To find Hercules, I usually find it easiest to first locate the central square segment. The constellation Cygnus can be useful in finding Hercules, as it is a very easy constellation to find (it is shaped like a cross) and is near to Hercules.

Hercules is a Roman adaptation of the Greek demigod Heracles. Heracles was the son of Zeus and Alcmena, a mortal. This makes Heracles half-god, half-mortal. There are many legends regarding Hercules, one of the most famous being the Twelve Labors of Hercules.

Nebulae

The only notable nebula in Hercules is Abell 39. This planetary nebula is very close to spherical in shape, and can make an interesting target in medium to large telescopes. Planetary nebulae form at the end of their central star's life. Stellar winds blow gas outward into space, forming a nebula. You can see this cool planetary nebula in the image to the left (WIYN/NOAO/NSF). The Abell 39 nebula is about 2.5 light-years across. The outer shell of the nebula is only about 0.34 light-years thick. In the center of the sphere, you can see a star. This is the central star, and the source of the gas that makes up the planetary nebula. It is approximated that this nebula started to form a little over 22,000 years ago, and has been expanding at a rate of about 35 km/s.

Clusters

Hercules is home to one of the most famous globular clusters, M13. This beautiful globular cluster, also known as the Great Cluster in Hercules, contains a few hundred thousand stars packed into a spherical cluster only 145 light-years across! Even in small telescopes, this cluster is astonishing. In larger telescopes, M13 takes on a whole new look. The larger the telescope, the smaller objects it can resolve, so medium to large telescopes really start to show great detail in M13. Under dark skies, it is sometimes even visible to the naked eye! To the right, you can see the Hubble image of M13. The position of M13 is marked on the constellation map at the top right of this article, too.

Hercules is also the home of M92, another globular cluster. Although it isn't as impressive as M13, it is still an entertaining target. M92 is also marked on the map at top right.

I hope you enjoyed this month's installment of the Constellation Showcase, and that you will join us next month, when we will showcase another constellation!

To receive more articles like this, subscribe via RSS Feed or e-mail!

Clear skies!

Previous Constellation Showcase - Orion

Total Solar Eclipse, July 22, 2009

2009-07-02T22:14:00.010-04:00

On July 22nd, 2009, viewers in India and Southeast Asia will be treated to a total solar eclipse. With an incredibly long totality of 6 minutes and 39 seconds, this solar eclipse will be the longest solar eclipse until 2132! Totality occurs at 2:35 UTC. This eclipse will be visible starting in India, moving through Nepal, Bangladesh, China, and the southern end of Japan, finally ending in the South Pacific. Of course, the best place to see the eclipse would be at maximum totality, seen best from Iwo Jima. If you can't get there, though, any viewing area in the maps below will give an excellent show! To see a detailed map of the total eclipse's path, click any of the maps below.

The eclipse's path through India, Nepal, Bangladesh, and Bhutan.

The eclipse's path through China.

The eclipse's path through southern Japan.

For more detailed maps, see NASA's page on the eclipse.

SAFETY FIRST!

Although you will want to look at this eclipse, DO NOT LOOK AT A SOLAR ECLIPSE without proper safety equipment. Doing so can cause permanent and irreversible eye damage and possibly blindness.

In order to safely view this eclipse use a pinhole eclipse viewer. Here's how to make one for cheap.

Eclipse Predictions by Fred Espenak, NASA's GSFC

UPDATE

The eclipse has now occured, and video is available. I've posted some pictures, and a couple of vids.

Clear skies!