‘Ring of fire’ solar eclipse seen in Africa, Asia

Times of News

5 years ago

Sky-gazers along on a narrow band stretching from west Africa to the Arabian Peninsula, India and the Far East on Sunday witnessed a dramatic “ring of fire” solar eclipse.

The ring-shaped “annular” eclipse occurs when the moon passes between the Earth and the sun at a distance not quite close enough to the planet to obscure all sunlight, leaving a thin ring of light from the sun visible in a striking spectacle.

This collage shows the eclipse seen from New Delhi, India

Annular eclipses can be seen every year or two along a narrow pathway across the globe. They are only visible from about 2% of the Earth’s surface, Paris Observatory astronomer Florent Delefie told news agency AFP.

The eclipse took place on the longest day of the year in the northern hemisphere, when the Earth’s north pole is tilted most directly towards the sun.

First appearance in Republic of Congo

The “ring of fire” first appeared in the northeastern Republic of Congo at 5:56 local time (04:56 UTC), just a few minutes after sunrise.

This marked the eclipse’s maximum duration point, with the blackout lasting 1 minute and 22 seconds.

Eclipse seen from Taiwan Chiayi City

People in Hong Kong could also witness the eclipse

It then moved eastward across Africa and Asia before becoming a “maximum eclipse”—a perfect solar halo around the Moon—over Uttarakhand, India near the border with China at 12:10 local time (06:40 UTC).

The exact alignment of the Earth, moon and the sun was also visible for 38 seconds.

Clouds spoil view for some

In the Kenyan city of Nairobi, a cloudy sky at the exact moment the moon hid the sun meant witnesses saw only a partial eclipse.

The full eclipse was visible for a period of almost four hours at successive locations. Taiwan was the last location to see the partially hidden Sun before it ended over the Pacific Ocean.

Clouds spoiled the eclipse for those watching from Nairobi, Kenya

For hundreds of kilometers on either side of the eclipse’s path, people experienced daylight grow dimmer, but could not see the “ring of fire.”

Solar eclipses occur around two weeks before or after lunar eclipses, when the moon moves into the shadow of the Earth.

This bird was hogging the limelight in istanbul, Turkey

The second solar eclipse this year will happen on December 14 over South America. This time the moon will be closer to the Earth and will block out the sun’s light completely.

kp/ng (AFP, Reuters)

A ring-shaped solar eclipse over Africa, Arabia and Asia

Travelling across time zones

A ring-shaped “annular” eclipse will first be visible in the Republic of Congo, south of Impfondo, at 5:50 a.m. local West Africa Time (0650 GMT). Then this 20-kilometer wide “moon-shadow” will move east, crossing Yemen, Oman, Pakistan and India. Just four hours later, at 4:30 p.m. in Taiwan, people will witness it for the last time before it ends over the Pacific Ocean.

A ring-shaped solar eclipse over Africa, Arabia and Asia

Ancient fireball

Our sun had already been shining for billions of years before mankind even existed. Together with the planets of our solar system, the sun developed from a gas cloud 4.6 billion years ago. And it will probably continue shining for another five billion years, until its energy reserves run out.

A ring-shaped solar eclipse over Africa, Arabia and Asia

A big idol for energy researchers

The sun is basically a huge nuclear fusion reactor. At its core, pressure and temperature are so high that hydrogen atoms merge together to form helium atoms. This process releases huge amounts of energy. One thimble of sun material generates as much energy as burning thousand metric tons of coal does.

A ring-shaped solar eclipse over Africa, Arabia and Asia

100 times bigger than Earth

Seen from Earth, the sun doesn’t seem big – it is just a bright spot in the sky. But it does have a radius of about 700,000 kilometres (435,000 miles). Its core is 15 million degree Celsius (27 million degree Fahrenheit). Temperatures on the sun’s surface still reach 5500 degree Celsius (10,000 degree Fahrenheit).

A ring-shaped solar eclipse over Africa, Arabia and Asia

One in a billion

All stars in our universe glow because they generate energy deep down inside. Our sun is just like other billlions of stars scattered across the universe. In comparison with other stars, our sun is of medium size. Some stars are a hundred times bigger, others are just a tenth of the sun’s size.

A ring-shaped solar eclipse over Africa, Arabia and Asia

Restless on the outside

The sun’s surface is seething away. Hot and brightly glowing material ascends from the sun’s inside, cools and sinks down again, appearing much darker. Our sun is the only star in the universe so close to Earth that astronomers can observe in such detail.

A ring-shaped solar eclipse over Africa, Arabia and Asia

Amazing sunspots

Sometimes big dark spots appear on the sun’s surface staying for about a month. Even before the birth of Christ, humans already knew of those spots, and Galileo Galilei later recorded their appearance in writing. But for a long time people were mystified where those spots came from. Now we know the answer: they’re areas with a particularly strong magnetic field.

A ring-shaped solar eclipse over Africa, Arabia and Asia

Dangerous storms

When the sun is very active, geomagnetic storms develop. It’s when the sun catapults a particularly high number of charged particles into space. Those particles can hit and destroy satellites. They might also disturb electric power substations on Earth and even lead to power breakdowns.

A ring-shaped solar eclipse over Africa, Arabia and Asia

When the sky glows

This is another, much more beautiful effect of geomagnetic storms: an aurora, also called polar light. It occurs when charged particles of the sun hit the Earth’s atmosphere. The frequency of how often we may enjoy this spectacle depends on the solar cycle. Every eleven years the sun is particularly active – that’s when many geomagnetic storms and auroras can be observed.

A ring-shaped solar eclipse over Africa, Arabia and Asia

Please remember!

Never watch a solar eclipse without protecting your eyes. Even when the moon partly covers the sun, it is still extremely bright. Without sun protection you risk damaging your eyes – the retina can completely burn up. Fortunately, there are special eclipse glasses for such an event. They even look stylish, don’t they?

Author: Alexandra Hostert (with Fabian Schmidt)