Australian Sky & Telescope - June 2018

60 AUSTRALIAN SKY & TELESCOPE July 2018

ECLIPSES by Jonathan Nally

T

hismonthwe’llwitnessapartial

solareclipseandatotallunar

eclipse, although how much

you get to see will depend strongly on

where you live or observe from. Only

thoseinornearPerthwillseethe

lunar eclipse in its entirety; everywhere

else will see only portions of each

eclipse or nothing at all.

If you live in Tasmania or the

southern coastal regions of Victoria,

you’llgetachancetoseethepartial

solareclipseontheafternoonofJuly

13. It will also be visible if you happen
    to be in Bass Strait or the Southern
    Ocean, but it won’t be visible anywhere
    else, nor will it be the best eclipse ever
    seen even if you are in the right place at
    the right time.
    At maximum, from Hobart only
    3.5% of the Sun’s diameter will be
    obscured (at 1:25pm local time). From
    Melbourne it will be an even slimmer
    0.4% (1:22pm), while from Adelaide
    the eclipse will be barely noticeable at
    maximumat12:40pm.Theduration
    of the eclipse from Hobart will be 1

The edge of the Sun will be

obscured during the partial

solar eclipse of July 13, though

not by as much as seen in this

shot of a 1994 eclipse.

hour 4 minutes and 12 seconds; from

Melbourne it will be 33 minutes and

6seconds.

Nonetheless, it’s certainly worth

trying for if you have clear skies. Just

remember to use sensible solar observing

precautions to protect your eyesight.

ThelunareclipseofJuly28willbe

far better behaved, although it too will

elude some observers as it will occur in

Total eclipse of the Moon, July 28, 2018

City Partial begins Totality begins Totality ends Partial ends

Adelaide 3:54 am 5:00 am 6:44 am 7:20 am^

Auckland 6:24 am 7:25 am^

Brisbane 4:24 am 5:30 am 6:36 am^

Christchurch 6:24 am 7:30 am 7:51 am^

Darwin 3:54 am 5:00 am 6:44 am 7:13 am^

Hobart 4:24 am 5:30 am 7:14 am 7:33 am^

Melbourne 4:24 am 5:30 am 7:14 am 7:30 am^

Perth 2:24 am 3:30 am 5:14 am 6:19 am

Sydney 4:24 am 5:30 am 6:55 am^

Wellington 6:24 am 7:30 am 7:36 am^

All times are in local time for the relevant time zone. ^ Moon sets at this time, prior to the end of the eclipse.

Darkness, day and night

Solar and lunar eclipses will grace our skies this month.

G. GALEOTTI/CC BY 4.0; A. GARCIA/CC BY-SA 2.0