Solar Eclipse

Every now and then there's a total eclipse, and no, it's not of the heart. The moon is standing between the Earth and the sun today and will be casting a giant shadow over a (sadly, mostly uninhabited) section of the Southern Hemisphere. The annual solar eclipse passed through the western US earlier this year, but it was only a partial stellar wonder. Since the center of our universe will be completely concealed this time around, we've collected everything you need to know about this afternoon's solar eclipse.

• The eclipse's peak occurs at about 3:30 p.m. EST/12:30 p.m. PST in the South Pacific — The instance of "greatest eclipse," aka the peak, is the moment when the moon's shadow and the Earth's center are the closest.
• Unless you're in Australia, you won't be able to see it — The path of the total solar eclipse will begin in Oz and be visible from land only for a short while. The only populated region that will see the eclipse is the city of Cairns, whose residents will view the solar wonder for an entire two minutes. It's visible on the wide, open ocean from there on out.

If you're wondering how to livestream the eclipse, read on.

Miss Sunday's solar eclipse? If you don't live in a part of the country where you could see the moon pass in front of the sun, leave it to the Internet to help you view the space phenomenon.

Photographer Cory Poole shot 700 pictures of the event through his telescope and turned those images into a beautiful view of the eclipse, no sunglasses or pinhole projector required. Watch the moon's journey in the video below.

Indian students and a tourist observed the rare Annular Solar Eclipse today in South India.This rare astronomical event, during which the moon passes directly in front of the sun, lasted for seven minutes, 15 seconds.

• Dawn turned to darkness in Asia today, thanks to the longest total solar eclipse of the century. — AP
• Oakland, CA, has become the first US city to pass a tax on medical marijuana. — CNN
• Michelle Obama has chopped her hair. The first lady is rocking a new bob. — The Daily Mail
• Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger has been accused in a civil suit of raping a hotel concierge worker. — Washington Post
• Tyler Perry announced yesterday that he will treat 65 kids to a trip to Disney World, after they alleged that a suburban swim club shunned them because of their race. — Huffington Post