August 1st 2008 will see a solar eclipse visible across much of Asia, Europe, the Middle East and some portions of North America. Maximum totality is seen in Siberia, but you can also see the Moon totally obscure the Sun in many parts of China (and the North Pole if you’re about). The eclipse is often being called the 2008 Olympic Eclipse because it comes just days before the commencement of the Summer Olympics in Beijing.

In other parts of the Old World, a partial eclipse will be seen. The regions covered by partial eclipse are seen in the above diagram outlined in light blue, with totality in dark blue. If you want to know the details of what can be seen in your area, then I’d use the very handy Google Map provided by NASA.

This map allows you to double-click anywhere and find the start, maximum and end times for the eclipse that is visible in your locality. For example, in Cardiff the eclipse begins at 0930 (BST) and ends an hour and a half later.  You are also told the eclipse magnitude, which is basically a measure of how much of the Sun’s face, the Moon will cover. In Cardiff this will be around 21%.

Check out the site for info on your own area and if you plan to watch the eclipse, don’t forget to either project the Sun’s image onto a piece of paper, or order a set of eclipse viewing glasses.

So I didn’t get to see the lunar eclipse last night because of the cloud. But no matter! Thanks to the internet I already have a wealth of videos and images available. The one above is from Flickr user Viaan. Here are some of the best I have spotted so far…

This one was posted as a response to my video on YouTube. Viewed from Orlando Florida.

From opposite sides of a continent, these two images let you see that the Earth is round. They are taken at the same time. The first is from Toronto, the second from British Columbia.

This one has annoying music (seriously why do YouTubers do this?) but is still a fairly still capture.

I will end with this amazing montage from Flickr user n8xk, who has other cool images worth taking a look at too. Many more images of the eclipse in the Flickr pool too.

In my previous post, detailing tonight’s Lunar Eclipse (the last until December 2010), I included a YouTube video I made showing what you might expect to see if it is clear. Well included here is the same video plus two more showing the same event from the perspective of the Moon and the Sun.

The night-side of the Earth has been lightened, in this video as seen from the Moon, to show where the countries are. Viewing location is the Sea of Tranquility where Apollo 11 landed in 1969. Note the parts of the Earth that can been ’seen’ here. These are the only places you will see the eclipse from.

This is the video from my previous post about the eclipse. This is the view from Cardiff, UK. Note that toward the end, the horizon comes into view as the eclipse only visible until sunrise here.

In this video from the perspective of the Sun, the Earth’s penumbral shadow on the Moon is drawn on as a circle behind the Earth. Interestingly the Moon is partially shadowed even when the Sun is shining on it from another angle. This is the effect of the different penumbral and umbral shadows, explained here on Wikipedia, or in this exaggerated image:

Enjoy the eclipse is the weather is good where you are. I think I shall have to suffice with photos from last year.

This Wednesday there will be a total eclipse of the Moon. Totality will last for 51 minutes and will be visible throughout Europe, North America, the Pacific region and Northern Africa. The show kicks off at 00:35 GMT when the Earth’s penumbra touches the limb of the Moon. Totality occurs at 03:26 GMT. This will be the last total lunar eclipse until December 2010.

Update: new post shows eclipse from perspective of the Moon and Sun [Link].

During Lunar eclipses the Moon does not go completely black, but rather turns a nice deep red. Last year’s March eclipse was particularly good as the weather was very clear. We can only hope for the same this year.

For more information you can visit NASA’s eclipse page, or check out their handy, one-page guide which I have embedded below.

The embedded video was created using Starry Night at 300x normal speed and the photo shown is one my wife took last year. Nice isn’t it?

This image appeared on APOD the other day. It shows a solar eclipse as viewed from space. Very cool.

This image was taken from the old MIR station during the August 11th 1999 eclipse which was, if you can remember, visible from the UK. In fact if you look very closely you might be able to see me sitting on a ship in the English Channel. Oh wait, no you won’t because it was cloudy. As you can see though, despite the cloud it did go very dark.