total solar eclipse!

This is a view of the total solar eclipse that was seen from Australia yesterday!  It was Tuesday afternoon in the U.S., but Wednedsay just after sunrise for them.  This was near the city of Cairns, which was the only city in the world able to view the totality of the eclipse for the longest amount of time, which was four minutes.  From start to finish, it lasted about an hour and a half. 

Obviously my students and I have been counting down since the first day of school so I was thrilled to finally see it, and I cannot WAIT to show them the pictures and video tomorrow.  For those of you that don't understand (or give a crap), a solar eclipse is when the moon passes in front of the sun, literally blocking out its light so all that's visible is the sun's corona.

It's amazing to think how prehistoric people believed eclipses were bad omens.  I mean, can you imagine not knowing the science we do now and seeing that in the sky?  I'd be running for the hills too! 





This video is pretty good despite the Australians' lack of technical talent.  I'm just kidding - I know nothing about their talents.  I sort of just envision them frequenting the opera in Sydney and chasing kangaroos on the weekends.

The next total solar eclipse will be March 20, 2015 (and it's only viewable to Iceland, Europe, Africa and Asia).  The next one that will be viewable to us here in the United States will be August 21, 2017!  I am already starting my countdown!