logo
Partial solar eclipse to be visible in skies across France on Saturday

Partial solar eclipse to be visible in skies across France on Saturday

Yahoo29-03-2025

A partial solar eclipse will take place this Saturday, with the Moon crossing in front of the Sun for approximately four hours. The celestial event will be visible across parts of the Northern Hemisphere, including France.
Across France, between 10 and 30 percent of the Sun will be covered by the Moon on Saturday morning, with northern regions getting slightly greater coverage than those further south.
However, the effect will be subtle, and without protective eyewear the difference may not be immediately noticeable to the naked eye, according to the Paris Observatory.
The eclipse will begin at 8:50am UT – 9:50am in France – and conclude at 12:43 UT with the peak of the eclipse occurring at 10:47 UT, with visibility varying depending on location.
It will be visible across much of Europe, as well as parts of northeastern North America and northwest Africa.
Posting on Bluesky, the observatory stressed: "Be careful not to look directly at the Sun without suitable protection!"
Onlookers stunned as flaming meteor streaks across skies of Brittany
A partial solar eclipse occurs when the Sun, Moon and Earth align in such a way that the Moon partially obscures the Sun.
In contrast, a total solar eclipse, where the Sun is completely covered, results in a brief period of twilight.
Read more on RFI EnglishRead also:Scientists' anxious wait to celebrate solar probe's moment in the sunMove over Hale-Bopp: Once in 50,000-year comet may be visible to naked eyeBubble of hot gas discovered spinning around Milky Way black hole

Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Astronomers Just Discovered The Biggest Explosions Since The Big Bang
Astronomers Just Discovered The Biggest Explosions Since The Big Bang

Yahoo

time6 hours ago

  • Yahoo

Astronomers Just Discovered The Biggest Explosions Since The Big Bang

A never-before-seen type of giant space explosion – the biggest bangs since the Big Bang – has been accidentally captured by the Gaia space telescope. From the hearts of distant galaxies, the mapping telescope recorded sudden, extreme increases in brightness – colossal flares of light that lingered far longer than any such flares had been known to previously. These blasts were calculated to release as much energy as 100 Suns would over the course of their combined lifetimes. Analysis of that light revealed something that was both new and familiar at the same time: stars being torn apart by black holes, but on a scale we hadn't observed before. Each star was a large one, at least three times as massive as the Sun; and each black hole was a supermassive beast lurking in the center of the star's host galaxy. Such events are usually known as tidal disruption events, or TDEs. Astrophysicists are calling these new ones 'extreme nuclear transients' – ENTs for short. "We've observed stars getting ripped apart as tidal disruption events for over a decade, but these ENTs are different beasts, reaching brightnesses nearly 10 times more than what we typically see," says astrophysicist Jason Hinkle of the University of Hawaiʻi's Institute for Astronomy (IfA). "Not only are ENTs far brighter than normal tidal disruption events, but they remain luminous for years, far surpassing the energy output of even the brightest known supernova explosions." The rather tame term 'tidal disruption' is used to describe what gravitational forces do to an object that gets too close to a black hole. At a certain point, the power of the external gravitational field surpasses the gravity holding an object together, and it comes apart in a wild scream of light before at least partially falling into the great unknown beyond the black hole's event horizon. There are telescopes trained on the sky to catch these screams, applying a wide field of view to take in as much of the sky as possible, waiting for those unpredictable flares that denote the death throes of an unlucky star. Astronomers have managed to observe a good number of TDEs, and know roughly how they should play out. There's a sudden brightening in a distant galaxy, with a light curve that rises to a rapid peak before gradually fading over the course of weeks to months. Astronomers can then analyze that light to determine properties such as the relative masses of the objects involved. Gaia was a space telescope whose mission was to map the Milky Way in three dimensions. It spent a great deal of time staring at the sky to capture precise parallax measurements of the stars in the Milky Way. On occasion, however, it managed to exceed its mission parameters. When combing through Gaia data, Hinkle and his colleagues found two strange events: Gaia16aaw, a flare recorded in 2016; and Gaia18cdj, which the telescope caught in 2018. Both events bore a strong similarity to an event recorded by the Zwicky Transient Facility in 2020. Because that event was so insanely powerful, and because it was given the designation ZTF20abrbeie, astronomers nicknamed it "Scary Barbie". Hinkle and his team determined that Gaia16aaw and Gaia18cdj are the same kind of event as Scary Barbie, and set about trying to figure out what caused them. They ruled out supernova explosions – the events were at least twice as powerful as any other known transients, and supernovae have an upper brightness limit. A supernova, the team explained, typically releases as much light as the Sun will in its entire, 10-billion-year lifespan. The output of an ENT, however, is comparable to the lifetime output of 100 Suns all rolled together. Rather, the properties of the ENT events, the researchers found, were consistent with TDEs – just massively scaled up. That includes how much energy is expended, and the shape of the light curve as the event brightens and fades. ENTs are incredibly rare – the team calculated that they are around 10 million times less frequent than supernovae – but they represent a fascinating piece of the black hole puzzle. Supermassive black holes are millions to billions of times the mass of the Sun, and we don't have a clear idea of how they grow. ENTs represent one mechanism whereby these giant objects can pack on mass. "ENTs provide a valuable new tool for studying massive black holes in distant galaxies. Because they're so bright, we can see them across vast cosmic distances – and in astronomy, looking far away means looking back in time," says astrophysicist Benjamin Shappee of IfA. "By observing these prolonged flares, we gain insights into black hole growth during a key era known as cosmic noon, when the universe was half its current age [and] when galaxies were happening places – forming stars and feeding their supermassive black holes 10 times more vigorously than they do today." The research has been published in Science Advances. Titan's Atmosphere 'Wobbles Like a Gyroscope' – And No One Knows Why A 'Crazy Idea' About Pluto Was Just Confirmed in a Scientific First A Giant Mouth Has Opened on The Sun And Even It Looks Surprised

Titan's Atmosphere 'Wobbles Like a Gyroscope' – And No One Knows Why
Titan's Atmosphere 'Wobbles Like a Gyroscope' – And No One Knows Why

Yahoo

time9 hours ago

  • Yahoo

Titan's Atmosphere 'Wobbles Like a Gyroscope' – And No One Knows Why

There's something very peculiar about the atmosphere surrounding Titan, Saturn's largest moon: rather than staying constantly fixed in line with its surface, the atmosphere wobbles across the course of the seasons. The discovery was made in new research led by a team from the University of Bristol in the UK, through a detailed analysis of 13 years' worth of infrared light readings. Gas composition and temperature can be interpreted from these readings, and from there the shifting position of the atmosphere. It's not clear yet what's causing the unusual behavior, but it could eventually lead to more insights about the history of Titan, and other planetary bodies that share similarities with it. That includes Earth, since both have a relatively thick atmosphere, liquid lakes, and weather patterns. "The behavior of Titan's atmospheric tilt is very strange," says planetary scientist Lucy Wright, from the University of Bristol. "Titan's atmosphere appears to be acting like a gyroscope, stabilizing itself in space." "Even more intriguingly, we've found that the size of this tilt changes with Titan's seasons." That seasonal shift suggests the tilt might have something to do with the moon's yearly cycle around the Sun, in tandem with Saturn. A year on Titan lasts almost 30 years on Earth, and comes with major changes in heating and temperature. However, while the magnitude of the atmospheric tilt changes, the direction it's pointing doesn't: it always remains directed towards the same fixed spot. Working out why is going to take some time and further research. "What's puzzling is how the tilt direction remains fixed in space, rather than being influenced by the Sun or Saturn," says planetary scientist Nick Teanby, from the University of Bristol. "That would've given us clues to the cause. Instead, we've got a new mystery on our hands." One hypothesis the team is considering is that there was a large impact event in Titan's past which caused the atmospheric wobbles to begin, bringing changes in the moon's climate along with them. This research has a very real practical and immediate use: the Dragonfly spacecraft is scheduled to pay a visit to Titan in 2034. Getting the probe to land successfully in the swirling winds of the Saturnian moon will need a precise understanding of its atmosphere. Once Dragonfly is in place, we can expect plenty more in the way of fascinating discoveries. The team behind this new study describes Titan as "one of the most intriguing bodies in the Solar System" because of its characteristics – including being the only moon in the Solar System to have a proper atmosphere. Titan could even enhance our understanding of how life might get started and survive on alien worlds, under the influence of an atmosphere like Titan's – something that future studies could investigate. "The fact that Titan's atmosphere behaves like a spinning top disconnected from its surface raises fascinating questions – not just for Titan, but for understanding atmospheric physics more broadly, including on Earth," says planetary scientist Conor Nixon, from the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland. The research has been published in the Planetary Science Journal. A 'Crazy Idea' About Pluto Was Just Confirmed in a Scientific First A Giant Mouth Has Opened on The Sun And Even It Looks Surprised A Super-Tiny Star Gave Birth to a Giant Planet And We Don't Know How

The promise and peril of a crewed Mars mission
The promise and peril of a crewed Mars mission

Yahoo

time9 hours ago

  • Yahoo

The promise and peril of a crewed Mars mission

A crewed mission to Mars would rank among the most complex and costly undertakings in human history -- and US President Donald Trump has vowed to make it a national priority. That political momentum, coupled with SpaceX chief Elon Musk's zeal, has breathed new life into a cause long championed by Red Planet advocates -- even as major obstacles remain, including Trump and Musk's latest feud. - Why go? - As NASA writes in its Moon to Mars blueprint, "exploration of the cosmos remains a great calling for humanity." A mission to Mars would pursue scientific objectives like determining whether Mars ever hosted life and charting the evolution of its surface, as well as answering broader space physics questions -- such as the history of the Sun through studying Martian soil. Geopolitics also looms large, as Trump has pledged to "plant the American flag on the planet Mars and even far beyond," invoking the "unlimited promise of the American dream." Critics, however, say cuts to NASA's science budget and the cancellation of key projects -- including the return of rock samples collected by the Perseverance rover -- are undermining the research mission. "The purpose of exploration is not just to go somewhere," Nobel-winning astrophysicist John Mather told AFP. "This is not a tourist thing. This is a fundamental knowledge thing." - Getting there - Musk is betting SpaceX's future on Starship, the largest rocket ever built, despite fiery failures in its nine test flights. He's aiming for an uncrewed launch by late 2026, timed with the next favorable Earth-Mars alignment. But the timeline is widely seen as optimistic: Starship has yet to land its upper stage or demonstrate in-orbit refueling -- both essential for deep space travel. Some experts believe the system is fundamentally sound, while others say it's too soon to judge. "A lot of the pertinent and relevant technical information... is not known to us," Kurt Polzin, chief engineer for NASA's space nuclear propulsion project, told AFP. He backs Nuclear Thermal Propulsion (NTP), which uses fission to heat hydrogen and generate thrust. NTP delivers "a lot of power in a very small package," Polzin said, eliminating the need for orbital refueling or fuel production on Mars. Astronauts would spend seven to nine months in a cramped spacecraft, exposed to intense space radiation beyond Earth's magnetosphere. Ideas to improve radiation shielding range from passive methods, like using dense materials, to active concepts such as plasma fields that deflect radiation, while drugs are being developed to reduce cell damage. Without a system to simulate gravity -- such as rotational spin -- crews would also need grueling exercise routines to counteract muscle and bone loss. Mental health is another concern. Growing plants aboard -- more for morale than sustenance -- has proved beneficial on the ISS. Communication delays further complicate matters. On the station, real-time data has helped prevent an average of 1.7 potentially fatal incidents per year, said Erik Antonsen, chair of NASA's human systems risk board -- but such communication will not be possible en route to Mars. - Life on Mars - Once on the surface, the uncertainties grow. Probes and rovers have found hints -- organic molecules, seasonal methane -- but no definitive signs of life. If it ever existed, it likely died out long ago. Still, Earth's own "extremophiles" offer intriguing clues -- from fungi that harness Chernobyl's radiation for energy, to microbes that survived 500,000 years in frozen stasis. "If they can survive here in extreme environments, we have every reason to suspect they can be on Mars," said NASA astrobiologist Jennifer Eigenbrode at the recent Humans to the Moon and Mars Summit. And while NASA has decided nuclear fission will power surface operations, other choices -- from crop selection to habitat design -- remain open. "Mars has a 24-hour, 39-minute day -- that small difference creates strain, increases stress, and reduces sleep quality," said Phnam Bagley, a space architect who designs for comfort and crew well-being -- critical factors in preventing conflict. The first trip would be around 500 days on the surface, but long-term colonization raises deeper questions. For instance, scientists don't yet know whether mammalian embryos can develop in low gravity -- or what childbirth on Mars would entail. "I think it's really important to take that seriously," said NASA's Antonsen. "Even if you don't plan on it happening, people are still going to have sex, and somebody might get pregnant. Then it becomes a medical issue." ia/jgc/acb

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into the world of global news and events? Download our app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store