A little less sunlight for Christmas

　　The partial eclipse of the sun silhouettes an angel playing a trumpet on top of a downtown Cincinnati churc h steeple Monday, Dec. 25, 2000.

　　NEW YORK—Santa comes around every Christmas. But a Christmas eclipse of the sun is far more unusual.

　　The last time skywatchers were treated to a partial solar eclipse on December 25 was in 1954. And the next time it happens will be in 2307, according to Fred Espe nak of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center.

　　So it was understandable if still a little crazy th at a few diehards withstood 20-degree weather in Boston at midday on Monday to watch the moon blot out as much as 60 percent of the sun. The solar disc looked like a yellow crescent.

　　"It seemed important, just the coincidence of being on Christmas Day," said Pat Rowell, talking through her scarf.

　　Viewing was best in New England and the upper Midwe st, while clouds got in the way across much of the nati on's midsection.

　　But experts warn that it's dangerous to look at a s olar eclipse with just the naked eye. They recommend us ing special equipment, such as a welder's lens or a pin hole projector, to prevent eye damage and to get the be st view.

　　Ron Jenks of Providence, R.I, was in awe when he fi nally made out the bite the moon had taken out of the s un.

　　"That's amazing," he said. "The whole piece is gone ."

　　Lauren Likkel, an assistant professor of physics an d astronomy at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, said solar eclipses usually are visible from any partic ular spot on Earth only once or twice a decade.

　　"What are the odds of having a partial eclipse on t he last Christmas day of the millennium?" Likkel asked.