Four ways to enjoy a solar eclipse

This article was originally published at The Conversation. The publication contributed the article to Space.com’s Expert Voices: Op-Ed & Insights. Samantha Rolfe, Lecturer in Astrobiology and Principal Technical Officer at Bayfordbury Observatory, University of Hertfordshire The kind of solar eclipses usually portrayed in films are total solar eclipses — a reasonably rare event. They’re likely what you think about when you hear the word “eclipse.” A total eclipse is when the moon and the sun line up in the sky in such a way that the moon blocks the entire face of the…

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Senate passes huge tech funding bill, includes $10 billion for NASA moon landers

The U.S. Senate passed a spending bill on Tuesday (June 8) that would allocate nearly $250 billion to American scientific and technical research — including $10 billion for the development of private crewed moon landers for NASA. The U.S. Innovation and Competition Act sailed through the Senate on a 68-32 vote. As its name suggests, the bill is designed to boost American industrial and technological competitiveness, chiefly with China. The bill, which was previously known as the Endless Frontiers Act, includes an amendment recently added by Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.).…

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Here’s the US weather forecast for the ‘ring of fire’ solar eclipse of 2021

On Thursday morning (June 10) much of North America will see the moon block some portion of the sun during the first solar eclipse of the year — weather permitting, of course.  While parts of northern Canada, Greenland and Russia will witness a “ring of fire” as the moon passes directly in front of the sun, observers in parts of the U.S. will see only a partial eclipse, with the moon appearing to take a “bite” out of the sun.  Here is Space.com’s assessment of the chances of getting a…

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