Solar eclipse of March 8 - 9, 2016

 

 

 

A total solar eclipse will take place on March 8-9, 2016. A solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes between Earth and the Sun, thereby totally or partly obscuring the image of the Sun for a viewer on Earth. A total solar eclipse occurs when the Moon's apparent diameter is larger than the Sun's, blocking all direct sunlight, turning day into darkness. Totality occurs in a narrow path across Earth's surface, with the partial solar eclipse visible over a surrounding region thousands of kilometres wide. It will have a magnitude of 1.0450 visible across an area of Pacific Ocean, beginning in Indonesia, and ending in the northern Pacific Ocean.^[1]

If viewed from east of the international date line, for instance from Hawaii, the eclipse will take place on March 8, (local time). The Indonesian region has a 60-70% likelihood of cloud cover in March; clear skies are more likely further to the East in the Pacific.^[2] However, in February 11, 2016, Indonesian Agency for Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics (BMKG) forecasted that western parts of Indonesia have less likelihood of cloud cover and 20 percent chance of rain in westerly cities such as Bengkulu, Palembang, Palangkaraya, and Palu, less than its eastern parts during eclipse with a 90 percent chance of rain in Ternate and Maba with an accuracy of 65 percent.<sup>[3]

source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_eclipse_of_March_9,_2016</sup>