IHY sponsored several activities for the 2006 Total Solar Eclipse on 29 March, 2006. Regardless of where you are located, you will be able to enjoy the eclipse and participate in educational activities to learn about the Sun and space.

Eclipse Viewing Stations:
There were "viewing stations" all along the path of totality of the eclipse, where "eclipse kits" consisting of special viewing glasses, eclipse posters, and eclipse information were distributed. Scientists were available at many of these viewing stations to conduct the observations and answer questions about solar eclipses, the Sun, and space research. You can read about the Eclipse Expedition to Libya in the IHY 2006 Eclipse Journal.
More information on Eclipse Viewing Stations

Educational Eclipse Activities:
For people in regions that are not under the path of totality, there were several opportunities to participate in this year's event. We will be maintaining a list of Educational Eclipse Activities available throughout the world, and many educational resources are available.

Live Webcasts of the Eclipse:
Live webcasts were available from many eclipse sites, to provide you with the total eclipse experience. More information on Eclipse Webcasts

IHY is conducting this activity through a partnership with NASA's Sun-Earth Day Program. Every year, a day is chosen for a world-wide activities that shares the exciting discoveries and knowledge from heliophysical missions and research programs. This year's Sun-Earth Day features the Total Solar Eclipse and educational activities about the Sun and solar eclipses. All are encouraged to participate in Sun-Earth Day activities.

About the Eclipse

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On Wednesday, 2006 March 29, a total eclipse of the Sun was visible from within a narrow corridor traversing half the Earth. The path of the Moon's umbral shadow began in Brazil, extending across the Atlantic, northern Africa, and central Asia ending at sunset in western Mongolia. A partial eclipse was seen within the much broader path of the Moon's penumbra shadow, which includes the northern two thirds of Africa, Europe, and central Asia. Click here for more information on this eclipse Click here for more information on solar eclipses See this year's eclipse predictions

Eclipse Viewing Stations

Eclipse viewing stations were established along the path of totality. Special "eclipse kits" containing eclipse viewing glasses, eclipse posters, eclipse information and information on IHY were available. Children and adults of all ages are welcome and encouraged to participate.

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Country	Viewing Station Location	Contact	Start (U.T.)	Maximum (U.T.)	Comments
Brazil	Natal, RN	Dr. Antonio A. SOBRINHO	08:35	08:35	*
Ghana	Kumasi & Legon	Dr. KAKANE & Prof. MENYEH	08:00	09:10	Dr. Alphonse STERLING**
Togo		Dr. Marius POTGIETER	08:00	09:14	***
Benin		Dr. Marius POTGIETER	08:05	09:15	***
Nigeria	Ilorin & Ibadan	Dr. A. Babatunde RABIU	08:05	09:20	*
Niger		Dr. Marius POTGIETER	08:15	09:30	***
Chad		Dr. Marius POTGIETER	08:30	09:45	***
Libya		Dr. Joseph M. DAVILA*	09:10	10:30	** +
Egypt	El-Saloum Site	Dr. A. A. HADY	09:20	10:40	**
Turkey	Anatolian Peninsula	Dr. Atila OZGUC	09:40	12:10	*
Georgia	Poti, Senaki, Mestia & Zugdidi	Dr. Marina GIGOLASHVILI	10:00	12:30	*
Kazakhstan		Dr. Nikolay MAKARENKO	10:30	l2:40	***
Russia	Kislovodsk	Dr. Alexander STEPANOV	10:00	11:15	*
Mongolia		Dr. HUANG Guangli	10:55	11:14	***
* = Viewing station will be attended by a research scientist who will be able to answer detailed questions on solar eclipses, the Sun, and space research.
** = The viewing station will be hosted in association with an international research expedition.
*** = An eclipse viewing station has not yet been established. Please email the local contact shown in the table to express your interest and your preference regarding the viewing station location.
+ = Read daily updates about this expedition's eclipse activities by visiting the IHY 2006 Eclipse Journal.

Maximum eclipse and start (first contact) times are in Universal Time (U.T.) or Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) and are approximations, they vary inside each country. For the precise time, go to "Local Circumstances" in the NASA Eclipse Home Page.

• Sun-Earth Day Live Webcast of the eclipse from Turkey with the San Francisco Exploratorium,
  
• The Kowsar-1 Observatory and the Phoenix Project in Iran will be hosting a special live webcast from Antalya, Turkey (resources in both English and Arabic),
• Live webcast from El-Salloum in Egypt - contact: Dr. Ahmed Abdel Hady (Cairo University, Egypt),
• Webcast from Kastellorizo, Greece (also available in Greek
• another webcast hosted by a research team from Japan is being planned.

We are maintaining a list of local activities and educational events on this site. Please contact Dr. Cristina RABELLO-SOARES to have your event listed on this site.

• The San Francisco Exploratorium hosted a special event with a big-screen webcast

Online Resources
The Sun-Earth Day Website has an instructional guide, additional activity ideas and many additional online resources.

2006 Eclipse Posters: These high-resolution eclipse posters can be downloaded and printed on any large format printer. The poster is available in: English, Spanish, French, and Arabic. If you would like to volunteer to translate the text into a language that is not yet available, please contact Dr. Cristina RABELLO-SOARES.

ENGLISH 22in x 34in Download (64.3 MB)

SPANISH 22in x 34in Download (64.3 MB)

FRENCH 22in x 34in Download (64.2 MB)

ARABIC 22in x 34in Download (64.3 MB)