An annular solar eclipse will be visible across America on Saturday.
South and Central America, as well as parts of the US and Mexico, will experience the celestial event, with NASA saying everyone in the US will experience at least a partial solar eclipse.
An annular solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes between the Earth and the Sun, obscuring most of it but leaving a ring outside. This is one of the most spectacular types of eclipses.
Dr Nicola Fox, deputy director of NASA’s Science Mission Directorate, said: “An annular solar eclipse only occurs when the Moon is at its farthest distance from Earth.” Instead, an incredible ring of fire forms around the Moon.
“While we’re more excited about a total solar eclipse because you can see the corona, it’s actually much less common to see an annular solar eclipse, which makes it really cool to see.”
Can I see the solar eclipse from the UK?
The eclipse will not be visible from the UK, but there will be plenty of live streaming available, with the added benefit of no risk of damaging your eyes.
You can You can find the broadcast on NASA’s YouTube channel here.. Starts at 16:30 Moscow time. The eclipse itself will begin at 17:13 BST and end at 18:03.
What types of eclipses are there?
Total solar eclipse
A solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes directly between the Sun and the Earth, so that the Earth is in the shadow of the Moon.
Because the Moon is much smaller than the Earth, its shadow covers only a small portion of the Earth’s surface. This means that a solar eclipse can only be seen from a certain part of the planet.
Annular solar eclipse
Greenwich Observatory explains: “When the Moon is not closest to the Earth, its apparent diameter is smaller than that of the Sun.” Even where the Moon’s disk centrally obscures the Sun, the outer ring of the Sun’s disk is still visible. This is called an annular solar eclipse.”
Total lunar eclipse
A lunar eclipse occurs when the Earth is directly between the Sun and the Moon, meaning the Moon is in the shadow of the Earth.
Lunar eclipses are more common than solar eclipses and may be a little less spectacular, but they are still exciting events for stargazers.
During a total lunar eclipse, the Moon usually turns dark red because it is illuminated by light that has passed through the Earth’s atmosphere and refracted back toward the Moon.
Partial lunar eclipse
During a partial solar eclipse, only part of the Moon passes through the entire shadow of the Earth – the “umbra”. During a maximum solar eclipse, only a very small part of the Moon is in shadow. However, the rest of the Moon will still be somewhat eclipsed as it passes through the penumbra – the “penumbra”.
Penumbral lunar eclipse
A penumbral lunar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes only through the outer, fainter part of the Earth’s shadow, or penumbra. This occurs when the Earth moves between the Sun and Moon, but they do not form a perfectly straight line.
When will the next eclipses be visible from the UK?
The next solar eclipse visible from the UK will be partial lunar eclipse on October 28.. It will be seen in Europe, Asia and Africa, as well as Western Australia.
Greenwich Observatory said: “From the UK we will only see a small part of the full Moon crossing the umbra. At the peak, which occurs at 21:15, only 12 percent will be in the shade.”
there will be one Penumbral lunar eclipse March 25, 2024and then another one partial lunar eclipse September 18, 2024.
Next The partial solar eclipse visible in the UK will occur on March 29, 2025.. It will also be visible from northwest Africa, Europe and northern Russia.
IN August 12, 2026 total solar eclipse. will be visible from the Arctic, Greenland, Iceland, the Atlantic Ocean and northern Spain.
The partial solar eclipse should be visible from the UK, with around 90 per cent of the Sun obscured.
The last time a total solar eclipse passed over the UK was in 1999. It was one of the most widely observed total solar eclipses ever, as its path passed through areas of high population density.
Many people attended the eclipse in Cornwall – the only place in the UK where a total solar eclipse could be viewed.
Source: I News
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