Dear Duncan, Here's the copy for the total eclipse text. Hope it's not too
long. I could have gone on and on, some might say I have! Best wishes, Lis.


ON FEBRUARY 26, the western hemisphere will experience its last total solar
eclipse of the millennium. This spectacular phenomenon occurs when the new Moon
moves into position directly between the Sun and the Earth, plunging the world
under its path into darkness, and creating a faint halo of light around the
dark orb of the Moon.
 Next Thursday's `umbral shadow' will first touch the Earth over the Pacific
Ocean, around 3,000km (1,875 miles) southeast of Hawaii at 15:46GMT. Over a
course of 3 hours and 26 minutes, it will sweep east over the northern part of
South America and on to the Caribbean, before racing across the Atlantic
towards Africa, ending about 1,000km (600miles) short of Morocco, as the shadow
falls back into space.
 The complete effect will be visible along only this narrow corridor - just
151km (95 miles) wide at its fullest - which for much of its 14,000kms (8,750
miles) falls over oceans and uninhabited islands, such as three wildlife
sanctuaries in the Galapagos. The instant of greatest eclipse, lasting for 4
minutes and 8 seconds, will be 600km (375 miles) off Colombia's Pacific coast.
 The land sites from which the total eclipse will be best seen are the
Colombian city of Valledupar, the Venzuelan port of Maracaibo, the Dutch
islands of Aruba and Curacao, and the Leeward Islands, where, in the north of
Guadeloupe, there will be prolonged views of Baily's Beads, the name given to
the brilliant bursts of sunlight that appear briefly around the Moon just
before and after an eclipse.
 A partial eclipse of the Sun will occur across a much broader band, known as
the `penumbral shadow,' from Quebec in the north to the Bolivian capital, La
Paz, in the south. However, observers are warned that while a total eclipse can
be safely viewed with the naked eye, a partially obscured Sun can cause
permanent retinal damage and `eclipse viewers' that filter out hazardous rays
should be worn.
ENDS