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is narrowest (146 kilometers) at sunrise and sunset, yet widest (179 kilometers) around noon. That's because a point on the Earth's surface is farthest from the moon at sunrise or sunset, yet closest to the moon around noon.
• As for the partial eclipse, it starts at sunrise (November 13 at 19:38 UT) in Indonesia and Western Australia and ends a little over five hours later at sunset in South America (November 14 at 00:46 UT).
• Although the eclipse starts at sunrise in the Eastern Hemisphere and ends at sunset in the Western Hemisphere, the shadow path crosses the International Date Line going from west to east. That means the local date of the eclipse changes from Wednesday, November 14 to Tuesday, November 13. Befuddling though this may be, people on the east side of the International Date Line (Chile, Cook Islands and American Samoa) will see the eclipse on November 13, whereas people on the west side (New Guinea, Australia and New Zealand) will see the eclipse on November 14.
• Bottom line: As seen from just right place in Australia and the South Pacific, the November 2012 new moon will pass directly in front of the sun, causing a total solar eclipse. The eclipse will take place at or shortly after sunrise on Wednesday, November 14 local time in Australia. Elsewhere, the eclipse will happen on November 13, 2012. Check above for eclipse times in South America and some Pacific Islands. Almost everywhere in the Northern Hemisphere, the new moon will pass south of the sun, so no eclipse of the sun will be visible from our northerly latitudes.