EarthSky- 2021’s first solar eclipse
The new moon will sweep in front of the sun to create this year’s first solar eclipse on Thursday, June 10. On that day, the moon in its elliptical orbit of Earth will lie too far from us to cover over the sun completely. So a bright annulus – or ring – will surround the new moon silhouette at mid-eclipse. It’s the outer rim of the sun, not quite hidden from view. People have taken to calling these “ring of fire” eclipses. Essentially, they are partial eclipses, albeit very dramatic ones. As with any partial eclipse, you need eye protection to watch an annular eclipse. Watching with the unaided eye will cause eye damage.
Path of the annular eclipse
The path of the annular or “ring of fire” eclipse is shown as the curved red swath on the map below. Astronomers call this the path of annularity. You must be within this narrow track along Earth’s surface to see the “ring of fire.”
All in all, this eclipse lasts for about 1 2/3 hours (100 minutes). It starts at sunrise in Ontario, Canada (on the north side of Lake Superior). Then the eclipse path circles across the northern reaches of the globe. Midway along the path, the greatest eclipse occurs at local noon in northern Greenland. Afterwards, the annular eclipse path swings by the Earth’s North Pole. It ends at sunset over northeastern Siberia.
From any one point along this....READ MORE
Hi, I’m Deborah Byrd ... Editor-in-Chief of this website and your geeky sister and friend. I love the Earth, the sky, nature in general, the idea of our human future together, creativity and problem-solving, the evolution of media, kundalini yoga, and my family. You might know me from the award-winning, popular and effective radio series EarthSky: A Clear Voice for Science, which I founded in 1991 and which ultimately broadcast on thousands of radio stations in the U.S. and around the world. Today – as the small but awesome EarthSky team – we have a blast bringing you daily updates on your cosmos and world. We love your photos and welcome your news tips! This website is for you. We hope it’s a place you’ll meet others like yourself.
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