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Viking wolves return for first solar eclipse of 2011
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Viking wolves return for first solar eclipse of 2011
AFP - 1 hour 5 minutes ago
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Viking wolves return for first solar eclipse of 2011
PARIS (AFP) - – Two beasts of Norse mythology are set to trouble the skies of northern Europe on Tuesday for the world's first solar eclipse of 2011.
Ancient Viking legends recount that a giant wolf named Skoll chases the Moon, and its brother Hati pursues the Sun -- and if either sinks their teeth into one and holds it back, an eclipse occurs.
For astronomers, though, eclipses are less superstitious affairs, occurring when the Moon swings between the Sun and Earth.
Tuesday's event will be a partial eclipse. This occurs when a fraction of the Moon obscures the Sun, and to those in its shadow a "bite" seems to have been taken out of the solar face.
NASA's veteran eclipse specialist Fred Espenak says that, weather permitting, Western Europe will get a grandstand view at sunrise.
The lunar shadow will fall in the Algerian Sahara at 0640 GMT before flitting northeastwards. In London, Amsterdam, Brussels, Paris and Berlin, between two-thirds and three-quarters of the Sun will be darkened at the eclipse's peak.
Scandinavia will be most favoured, especially in northern Sweden where, at 0850 GMT, four-fifths of the Sun will be obscured.
In the Middle East, the Sun will be almost half-obscured when seen from Beirut, Jerusalem and Amman, but more than 60 percent from towns in Turkey.
As the lunar shadow zips to the east, a smaller eclipse will be visible at sunset from central Russia, Kazakhstan, Mongolia and northwest China before the Sun's face is fully restored a few seconds after 1100 GMT.
The eclipse spectacle will run for about two to two and a half hours, according to the location.
The next partial solar eclipse will be on June 1, visible in eastern Siberia, northern China, Alaska and northern Canada.
Total solar eclipses occur when the Sun, Moon and Earth are all perfectly in line.
By a quirk of celestial mathematics, the Sun is 400 times wider than the Moon, but it is also 400 times farther away. The symmetry means the lunar shadow, or umbra, is just wide enough to cover the face of the Sun.
The last total solar eclipse was on July 11 2010, crossing the Southern Pacific.
The next will be on November 13 2012, crossing parts of Australia, New Zealand, the South Pacific and South America, says Espenak.
The tale of Skoll and Hati, the descendants of giantesses, is enshrined in 13th-century Icelandic literature, which recounts:
"Skoll is the wolf that to Ironwood
Follows the glittering god,
And the son of Hrothvitnir, Hati, awaits
The burning bride of heaven."
If either wolf caught up with Sun or the Moon, humans must scare the beast off with as much noise as possible in order to restore light, according to Norse beliefs.
Even so, at the twilight of the gods -- a doomsday event known as Ragnarok -- any human intervention would be useless. The two wolves would finally get to devour their booty.
+ Local timings for Tuesday's partial eclipse can be found at http://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/OH/OHtables/OH2011-Tab01.pdf. Eclipses should only be observed through special filters or eyewear, to prevent damage to the retina.
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