Background:

A solar eclipse occurs whenever the Moon passes directly in front of the Sun (from the perspective of a particular location on Earth). These events are relatively common somewhere on Earth, but are quite rare in any specific location.

If only there were a way to see a solar eclipse more frequently, without financially- and environmentally-costly travel!

Proposal:

It turns out, this problem is very easy to solve if we think about it from first principles: since an eclipse occurs any time the Sun is occluded by something from an observer’s perspective, we can replace the relatively giant (but distant) regular Sun-eclipsing Moon with a tiny “micro Moon” that is much closer to the observer (Figure 2).

Conclusion:

This invention should open up new fields of astronomical research, and will surely also increase public awareness of fascinating celestial phenomena.

PROS: Ushers in a new era of convenience for eclipse aficionados.

CONS: May devalue the experience of the actual eclipse.