Get ready to watch the most significant celestial event of this year. This Sunday the Sun will be eclipsed in a ring of fire caused by the moon moving between the earth and the sun blocking it completely from view except for 1%. This will result in a visible ring of fire unlike a usual solar eclipse where the moon blank out the sun totally.
The ring of fire eclipse will be visible in locations across the Southern Hemisphere where people can witness this spectacular and stunning event.
The ring of fire eclipse is an annular solar eclipse with a difference. In a usual eclipse, the moon completely shadows the sun but in a ring of fire eclipse, the moon is too far away to block the disc entirely leaving a thin ring of fire visible to us on earth.
The event is expected to start at 7am EST on Sunday the 26th of February (12 noon UTC and!! pm AEDT). The eclipse will then make landfall in southern Chile 10 minutes later. The eclipse will be clearly visible in Southern South America and Southern Africa providing the weather conditions are favorable in the area. However those unable to witness the event can view it on various sites that are bound to live stream the stunning celestial display such as slooh.com which is associated with a network of observatories across the world.
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This Sunday the moon will be at its farthest distance from earth which is known as an apogee. The reason for such a phenomena is because of the moon's elliptical orbit. This is why when our lunar satellite blocks out the sun, only 99% will be covered along a thin path called the path of annularity.
The path of annularity is when the shadow of the moon is cast on planet earth varying from 29 to 85 km in width, The eclipse will touchdown in Chile at about 9.10 am after which it will be seen in Argentina and move eastwards across the Atlantic to the African nations like Zambia, Angola and the democratic republic of Congo. This will occur 168 minutes later. Argentina is touted as the best place where the most spectacular views will be available.
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The ring of fire eclipse will result in one of the rarest and most beautiful of sunsets in Congo. Rather than a red ball, the sun will look like a fiery hoop states Joe Rao of Space.com. People outside the path of annularity need not be disappointed as some of them will be able to witness the celestial show. Most of Antarctica, the lower 2/3rd of America, western and southern Africa will be able to witness a partial solar eclipse.
NASA has issued a standard warning for those viewing the ring of fire eclipse. You should either watch this on a pinhole camera or solar viewing glasses. The sun even though it has been blocked can still damage your eyes. The ring of fire eclipse is the first of 2017 but there is an even bigger event in the schedule of stunning celestial events lined up this year. On August 21, the great American eclipse will be easily visible across the continenent. However it is the ring of fire which is a rare event so don’t forget to buy you solar glasses and gear up for an eventful Sunday.
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