Eclipse 2005

Today we will be able to see an eclipse here in Panama. It will be a hybrid solar eclipse and part of it's path will pass through Panama. It will be seen in different countries like Costa Rica, Colombia and Venezuela besides here. But from what I've read the best place to see it will be Panama because in the other countries it will be seen at places where the jungle is very thick or the places are very secluded, so it will be very difficult to get there and also here is the only country where you'll be able to see it from start to finish. As a result we have scientists and tourists from all over the world coming here to observe it.

We have scientists and astronomers from NASA, Johnson Space Center, France, Belgium, England, Spain, Japan and Iran. Also American scientists from the University of North Dakota that will be observing the phenomenon from a very sophisticated telescope.

The eclipse will start in the South Pacific (Pacific Ocean) as annular, several kilometers later it will become a total eclipse and then back to annular. We will be able to see it like around 3:30 p.m. until like 6:00 p.m. We have to use special glasses to look at it, and we should not look directly into the sun at the time of the eclipse because it can cause damages to your vision. To learn more about it you can check the APAA (Panamanian Association of Amateur Astronomers) and there they give links to other pages.

Maybe I should join this association, it would be very interesting.