Hybrid Solar Eclipse

Taurids Meteor Shower

Welcome to the Saturday edition of Gem Steady’s blog with Intern BB! Can you believe November is already here? As I mentioned in a previous post, we have some exciting things brewing above us in the sky. Tomorrow morning, around 6:30 a.m. the hybrid solar eclipse will be visible in North America. This eclipse is quite unique because it will start as an annular eclipse, develop into a total eclipse and fade back into an annular eclipse near the end.

A total eclipse is a beautiful natural accident that happens due to a perfect orbital plane intersection and just the right distance between the moon, earth and sun. The sun is much larger than the moon, however the moon is a lot closer to earth and when the distance is just right, the moon can appear to block out the sun completely. A total eclipse can be expected about every 20 months, but the viewing areas depend on where the moon casts its shadow. An annular eclipse is somewhat similar to a total eclipse, however the sun is not far enough from the moon to get completely blocked out. Lucky viewers of this type of eclipse can see a ring of fire, which is the sun peeking out from behind the moon.

The hybrid eclipse is rare because the annular eclipse turns into a total eclipse during different points of the eclipse path. While this eclipse is rare and beautiful, use caution while observing and do not look directly into the sun without protective eyewear. Eclipses are gorgeous after all, but I don’t want anyone to burn their peepers!

If you miss out on the eclipse early Sunday, you may catch bits of the taurids meteor shower Monday night through Tuesday morning. This shower produces no more than 20 meteors per hour, however, taurids has been known to produce surprisingly bright balls of fire, so it is worth looking for. It can be difficult to pinpoint a peak time for this meteor shower, but it is predicted to be just after midnight and a few hours past on Tuesday morning.

Will you be looking for the hybrid eclipse or the taurids meteor shower? Share all of your star gazing pics and experiences with us!

Thank you all for reading and may the rest of your weekend be wonderful!

Love Intern BB