Ghana and other parts of West Africa, will on November 3, 2013, experience a partial hybrid solar eclipse.
A partial hybrid solar eclipse is an eclipse, where there is a maximum partial cover of the Sun by the Moon.
It will happen at 22 minutes after 1 p.m. that day, barring
any rains or cloudy weather, and Ghanians will see the normal afternoon
sunny light being dimmed to evening for about one-and-half minutes, when
the face of the Sun would be covered 80-85 per cent by the Moon.
The rare phenomenon, was disclosed by Prof Emmanuel Amamoo-Otchere,formerly the Executive Director of the Centre for Remote Sensing and
Geographic Information Systems (CERSGIS) of the University of Ghana,
Legon and now a member of the African Astronomical
Society.
He said, the rare occurrence had been known for some time but had to be
confirmed by partners such as the National Aeronautics and Space
Administration (NASA), which has diagrams of the phenomenon on its
website.
What to do
The last time Ghana experienced an eclipse was on Wednesday, March 29,
2006, and that was a total one, which occurred from 8.30 a.m.
and 9.30 a.m across the country.
Prof Amamoo-Otchere said it was important for Ghanaians to be aware of what was to
happen and protect their sight on that day.
He said all needed shades to view the phenomenon as was the case in March,2006.
How it will happen
:
There will be partial darkness, similar to dusk, and the eclipse will
be seen in Eastern America, sliding to West Africa and finally
dissipating in Central Africa.
People along the coast, from Half Assini to Aflao, will experience a
wave of darkness in the skyline of a duration of a minute or two.
He said inland, the phenomenon would be experienced in the northern
parts of the country, as far as Burkina Fasso, he added.
Prof Amamoo-Otchere said what was not certain was animal behavior at
the time of the eclipse, but he said it was likely that for the split
moment of darkness, some birds would change direction in flight.
"It is possible to see some twinkling stars and some planets," he added.
Prof Amamoo-Otchere said for him, the phenomenon showed that there was a
super engineer, that is God, who was super precise in all his doings
and was still working.
He said, it also showed the scientific skill of man in calculating the
point at which the Sun, Earth and Moon aligned that resulted in one
blocking the other.
Source: Daily Graphic
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