Mark C wrote:

"scratch azazel" wrote in message
...
Can any astronomy buffs help me out with astronomy questions? Is it
possible for someone in England and South Africa to see an eclipse at
the same time? I say no because the two countries are in different
hemispheres? Am I right.

Solar: No

Usually, but not quite always. On the occasions when the path of
totality passes nearly halfway between the two locations, a partial
eclipse will sometimes be visible from both.

Here's a map of the annular solar eclipse scheduled for 3 October 2005:

http://sunearth.gsfc.nasa.gov/eclipse/SEplot/SEplot2001/SE2005Oct03A.gif,

which will be visible both from the UK and (just barely) from the
northern part of South Africa; picturing a similar occasion but where
the maximal point is just a little to the south, you can see that
both countries could fall entirely within the moon's penumbra, albeit
not quite at the same time.

On 29 March 2006 there will be a total eclipse, visible as a partial
from Iceland to Angola:

http://sunearth.gsfc.nasa.gov/eclipse/SEplot/SEplot2001/SE2006Mar29T.gif;

this 'near miss' would become a 'hit' were its path shifted just a
few degrees to the south-by-southeast.

(An explanation of these maps may be found at

http://sunearth.gsfc.nasa.gov/eclipse/OH/SEplotkey.html.)

But what with the eighty-odd-degree difference in latitude I don't
think it's possible for the moon's *umbra* to cross both countries,
so they can't both experience the same total or annular solar eclipse
as such.

Lunar: Yes

Certainly. The longitudes of the two locations aren't far apart, so
they should have similar views of most lunar eclipses.

--
Odysseus