Total (Partial) Eclipse of the Heart

Easy to see through the clouds

I witnessed a rare solar eclipse today.

The eclipse - caused when the moon passes directly between Earth and the sun - cast a 150-kilometre wide shadow which started at dawn in Australia's Northern Territory and then crossed the northeast tip of the country before swooping east across the South Pacific.

No islands were in its direct path, so northern Australia was the only land where there was even a chance of seeing the full eclipse.

Totality - the darkness that happens at the peak of the eclipse - lasted just over two minutes.

Watching through a hole in a piece of paper 

A partial eclipse was visible in New Zealand, with those further north able to see more of the sun covered by the moon.

 The Solar Saros 133, a series of eclipses which occur about every 18 years, began in New Zealand at the North Cape at 9.12am with the moon first creeping over the sun's disc before being viewed from around the country.  It ended just before lunchtime.

My friend Edine was here so we watched it from the spa pool at 10:30am.  It was quite cold outside.  The temperature was only 13 degrees.

The reflection on the camera showed two moons

Today's eclipse was the second of 2012, and the most complete eclipse New Zealand will see until July 22, 2028.