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A partial eclipse of the Sun will occur next Monday (March 19), and weather permitting, the event will be visible in Hong Kong.
As observed in Hong Kong, the eclipse will occur from 9.09am to 10.26am and the maximum eclipse will occur at 9.47am. This partial eclipse has a magnitude of 0.161, meaning that 16.1% of the Sun's diameter will be obscured by the Moon at the maximum eclipse. Please refer to the attached diagram for the path of the Moon during the partial eclipse.
Details of the partial eclipse are as follows:
HK Time Azimuth Elevation
Direction (Degrees)
------- ------- -----------
Sunrise 6.29 am East -1
Eclipse begins 9.09 am East-southeast 36
Maximum eclipse 9.47 am East-southeast 44
Eclipse ends 10.26 am East-southeast 52
Due to the strong sunlight, people must not look directly at the sun with the naked eye or through a telescope. They also should avoid observing the eclipse for a prolonged period. A safer method is to project the sun's image through a pin hole onto a piece of white paper or cardboard and view the projection. An illustration is given in the Hong Kong Observatory website:
http://www.weather.gov.hk/gts/event/event-solar-eclps16_e.htm
The best places to observe the event will be those with unobstructed view to the east-southeast such as Sai Kung, Shek O, etc.
The next solar eclipse observable in Hong Kong will occur on August 1, 2008. It will be a total eclipse but only be visible as a partial eclipse in Hong Kong.
Please refer to the Hong Kong Observatory website for a detailed explanation of the technical terms used for different stages of the eclipse:
http://www.weather.gov.hk/gts/astron2007/solar_eclipse_e.htm
Ends/Wednesday, March 14, 2007
Issued at HKT 15:01
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