A rare solar eclipse allowing a view of the Sun that is totally or partially blocked out by the Moon is under way. First visible in the southern United States, the eclipse shadow is moving east, and the best view of the total eclipse on land will be in Gabon at about 13:50 GMT (19:20 IST).
This solar eclipse is a rare occurrence in that it is "hybrid" - switching between an annular and total eclipse.
In a total eclipse, the Moon completely covers the sun, while an annular eclipse occurs when the Moon is at its farthest from the Earth and does not block out the Sun completely, leaving a halo of sunlight still visible around the Moon.
The eclipse event began about 1,000km (620 miles) east of Jacksonville, Florida with an annular eclipse visible for four seconds at sunrise.
As the Moon's shadow raced east the eclipse switched from annular to total along a narrow corridor. The best view of the total eclipse occurred in the Atlantic Ocean, approximately 330km south-west of Liberia, and lasted for more than one minute.
On land, the best total eclipse will be visible in Gabon at 13:51 GMT, and the shadow of the eclipse will race across Congo, until it passes through northern Uganda and northern Kenya, ending in southern Ethiopia and Somalia.
![path-of-hybrid-solar-eclipse-03-nov-2013 path-of-hybrid-solar-eclipse-03-nov-2013](http://lh4.ggpht.com/-0yrOhKoBosY/UnZWxtkLqVI/AAAAAAAALT0/wDEa7Y-uwJQ/path-of-hybrid-solar-eclipse-03-nov-2013_thumb.jpg?imgmax=800)
(image courtesy NASA)
[this post is put together from news report at BBC to test goesAPP]
This solar eclipse is a rare occurrence in that it is "hybrid" - switching between an annular and total eclipse.
In a total eclipse, the Moon completely covers the sun, while an annular eclipse occurs when the Moon is at its farthest from the Earth and does not block out the Sun completely, leaving a halo of sunlight still visible around the Moon.
The eclipse event began about 1,000km (620 miles) east of Jacksonville, Florida with an annular eclipse visible for four seconds at sunrise.
As the Moon's shadow raced east the eclipse switched from annular to total along a narrow corridor. The best view of the total eclipse occurred in the Atlantic Ocean, approximately 330km south-west of Liberia, and lasted for more than one minute.
On land, the best total eclipse will be visible in Gabon at 13:51 GMT, and the shadow of the eclipse will race across Congo, until it passes through northern Uganda and northern Kenya, ending in southern Ethiopia and Somalia.
![path-of-hybrid-solar-eclipse-03-nov-2013 path-of-hybrid-solar-eclipse-03-nov-2013](http://lh4.ggpht.com/-0yrOhKoBosY/UnZWxtkLqVI/AAAAAAAALT0/wDEa7Y-uwJQ/path-of-hybrid-solar-eclipse-03-nov-2013_thumb.jpg?imgmax=800)
(image courtesy NASA)
[this post is put together from news report at BBC to test goesAPP]
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