robert bristow-johnson wrote:
how does an annular eclipse only last for 33 seconds. i s'pose there is
only one instant of time when the moon is perfectly smack-dab in front of
the sun (if it is at all), but if you allow any slop in the definition of
the elapsed time of the eclipse, isn't it longer than that?

when i lived in Hanover NH in 1993 and 94, in one of those years (i think it
was 94), i saw a total annular eclipse (i wish it was a total-TOTAL eclipse
of the sun) and it lasted for longer than that as i recall.


If the sun and moon have exactly the same angular size, the moon will
exactly cover the sun, and the eclipse duration will be zero seconds.
It gets longer on either side.

Cheers,

Phil Hobbs