This morning, the sun rose above New Zealand horizons as a magnificent crescent, 57% of its surface shielded by the moon.
At the time of me posting this, a Hybrid Solar Eclipse will make its way across the South Pacific, ending up on the west of the USA. A Hybrid Solar Eclipse is an extremely rare occurance, whereby some parts of the Earth will see the sun entirely blocked out by the moon; others will see a ring of light, the sun, surrounding the dark disc of the moon. And of course, the areas of partial eclipse, of which New Zealand was one today
So there I was, at 6.40am with three pairs of sunglasses, peering out the window trying to catch a glimpse of this magnificent phenomena. It's quite rare for New Zealand to get a solar eclipse because we're so far south. But nevertheless, the sun broke through the clouds with the moon clearly obscuring a significant part of the luminate disc. I won't be forgetting this moment any time soon. (This may or may not have something to do with the image burned into the back of my retina)