Anyone in Antarctica today would have experienced the only total solar eclipse of the year, suggesting one of the largest groups of individuals to observe the gorgeous show would have been the southern continent’s penguins.
Anyone in Antarctica today would have experienced the only total solar eclipse of the year, suggesting one of the largest groups of individuals to observe the gorgeous show would have been the southern continent’s penguins. And that’s a huge population of spectators. During a solar eclipse, the moon moves between the sun and Earth so that it projects a shadow onto Earth. Today’s total solar eclipse happened when the sun, moon and Earth, in that order, were lined up perfectly. That happened at around 2:44 a.m. EST (0744 GMT), according to NASA. Totality — when the umbra or the darkest part of the moon’s shadow covers the face of Earth — lasted just 1 minute and 54 seconds at most. People (or animals) who got to see the solar eclipse (through special glasses, as you should never look directly at the sun) were located in the center of the moon’s shadow at the time it hit Earth, according to NASA.
