Eclipse Apprentice Training Bonus

The first stage of an annular eclipse is First Contact.  This is when the Moon appears to touch the Sun. Near the side of the Sun, a small curved area appears missing from the Sun’s perfect circle.  This missing area is the Moon as it begins to move in front of the Sun. The Moon is slowly starting to block out some of the Sun’s light. It looks like the Moon is taking a small bite out of the Sun. Usually, the Moon’s deep craters make the Moon appear rough.  But now, the Sun’s light is so bright that it makes all of the Moon’s features disappear. This causes the Moon to look black and smooth like glass.

The second stage is Second Contact. In this stage, the Moon has moved further in front of the Sun.  The Moon looks to be a completely black disk and the Sun’s light shines only at the edges of the Moon in a thin C-shape or crescent. At this stage you might also see something called Baily’s Beads. Baily’s Beads look like a few glowing pearls found at the ends of the Sun’s crescent shape. Baily’s Beads are caused  by sunlight shining through deep valleys on the Moon. After Baily’s Beads disappear, a ring of light will start to appear. It may be tempting, but you should NEVER look at Baily’s Beads or the ring of light with your eyes or a telescope.  You MUST wear special eclipse glasses or use a special solar filter during ALL stages of an annular eclipse.

Maximum phase or annularity is the third stage. At this point, the Sun appears to be a very bright ring of fire. It no longer looks like a glowing ball of light. This is because the dark black Moon has moved to block the center of the Sun.  All that is visible is the Sun’s outer edge around the circular edge of the Moon. This makes the Sun’s light look like a glowing letter “O.” This “O” shape is known as an annulus in mathematics. The word annular means “little ring” in Latin. This is why this type of eclipse is called an annular eclipse. This ring will only appear for a few minutes because the Sun, Moon, and Earth are still slowly moving.

Remember, during ALL stages of an annular solar eclipse you MUST protect your eyes with special eclipse glasses or use solar filters on telescopes and cameras if you want to look at the annular eclipse or you could damage your eyes! 

The next stage is Third Contact.  The maximum phase or annularity is ending and the Moon is slowly creeping away from the center of the Sun. As the dark, round Moon blocks less of the Sun’s bright light, the Sun’s fiery ring of light slowly turns back into a C-shape or crescent. Depending on your location during the eclipse, Baily’s Beads might be visible again.

The annular eclipse is ending as it enters the last stage, Fourth Contact. The Moon is slowly moving completely out of the Sun’s way.  As the Moon moves, it looks like it is taking smaller and smaller bites out of the Sun. At this point, only a small section of the Sun is blocked by the Moon. Soon, the Moon will no longer be blocking any of the Sun’s light. Fourth Contact is the end point of the annular eclipse.