Friday is the last opportunity to view a solar eclipse in New Zealand for a long time (till 2021 – or 2025 if you don’t count anything of a few percent or lower). I say ‘view’, but the reality is that such a smidgen of sun is going to be covered that you’re going to have to look carefully at the right time. And that’s only for us northerners – most in the South Island are going to miss out. (Details for this eclipse are here).
For Hamilton, the eclipse hits its maximum coverage (a mere 5%) at 11:49 am.
But it’s not all bad news – an eclipse famine is followed by an eclipse bonanza – three total and three annular eclipses visible from New Zealand between 2028 and 2045. Worth looking forward to. I’ll be into my seventies for the last one of these. Ouch.
11:51am, Friday 10th May. Just caught a glimpse of the sun in a clear patch between the clouds. Can I detect any ‘nibble’ out of it. Nope. I thought 5% was a bit of an unlikely viewing situation.