A Chinese man wears a protective mask to prevent COVID-19 and protective glasses as he watches the ... [+]
Early on Sunday morning as much as 99.4% of the Sun was covered by the Moon for less than a minute as seen from parts of Africa, the Middle East and Asia.
Although few international eclipse-chasers could travel to witness the event, and many living near the 27 miles-wide path of the Moon’s shadow were also thwarted by COVID-19 travel restrictions, amateur astronomers were out in force for this rare annular solar eclipse.
The path of today's eclipse began in Africa and crossed into the Arabian Peninsula.
This special kind of partial solar eclipse was visible for just under six hours between 03:45 UTC and 09:34 UTC, from the Republic of Congo in Central Africa to Guam in the Pacific Ocean. From everywhere along the track solar eclipse glasses had to be worn.
Ethiopia was where some of the first images came from; here’s an image from the iconic Lalibela in Ethiopia, which is famous for its rock-hewn monolithic churches.
Next was Yemen. Not much was seen online during the eclipse, but soon after this beautiful photo appeared on Twitter.
While a massive swathe of the eastern hemisphere saw a partial solar eclipse, that delicate ring around the Moon was visible for between 38 and 82 seconds only from a narrow path through the Republic of Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, Central African Republic, South Sudan, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Yemen, Oman, Pakistan, India, Tibet, China and Taiwan.
Here’s that “perfect circle” moment from Quriyat, Oman.
Minutes later, it was Pakistan’s turn. In Sukkur, Pakistan, research astronomer Talha Moon Zia took this spectacular image that—in my opinion—is the definitive image of the entire eclipse; a “ring of fire” that shows the Sun’s pinkish chromosphere an even a few pink prominences—explosions on the surface of the Sun (look on the lower-left where the ring is at its thinnest).
The path of today's annular solar eclipse.
FroThe word annular comes from annulus, a Latin word for “little ring”. An annular solar eclipse is caused when a New Moon is further away from Earth on its slightly elliptical orbit, so not big enough in our sky to cover the whole of the Sun.
After leaving India across the Himalayas, the “ring of fire” then crossed Tibet and China, with the last views of the ring—for about a minute—in Xiamen, China and southern Taiwan.
Here’s a photo from Tibet:
The annular solar eclipse is seen on June 21, 2020 in Ali Prefecture, Tibet Autonomous Region of ... [+]
Macau then saw an 84% partial solar eclipse. Here’s a great amateur video of it, which demonstrates just how useful cloud can sometimes be for eclipse-viewing:
Don’t confuse an annular solar eclipse with a total solar eclipse, which occurs when a New Moon covers 100% or more of the Sun. The next total solar eclipse will happen next on December 14, 2020 as seen from a narrow “path of totality” through Chile and Argentina.
People gather to watch the partial solar eclipse along a promenade on June 21, 2020 in Hong Kong, ... [+]
The next annular solar eclipse will occur on June 10, 2021 and be visible from Canada, Greenland and Russia. It will be the first of three solar eclipses of some kind in North America inside just four years.
Solar eclipses are predicted using an ephemeris that accurately plots where the Sun and Moon are, with respect to Earth, where the Moon’s shadow is in space, and when it’s going to strike Earth’s surface. Spherical trigonometry has been used to plot how the Moon-shadow moves across the surface in 3D.
Science aside, you owe yourself a trip to see a solar eclipse—but make sure it’s a total solar eclipse you travel to. Annular solar eclipses make great photos—as demonstrated here—but they’re not a patch on the experience of “totality.”
Disclaimer: I am editor of WhenIsTheNextEclipse.com
Wishing you clear skies and wide eyes.
