Nitya Kapadia
Solar Eclipse: noun - an eclipse in which the Sun is obscured by the Moon.
For a few moments every 18 months, as the Earth, Sun and Moon all align, the Earth is suddenly immersed in a shadow as the Moon blocks the sunlight pouring down to Earth. Whilst 18 months sounds quite frequent, solar eclipses are still considered such rarities to us because, in reality, they are actually exceptionally hard to see from many parts on Earth. In addition to this, taking into account that the eclipse is on the summer solstice, it is considered to be an incredibly rare event. This same event will only happen once again this century: on June 21st 2039. Its special date is not the only separating factor, but also the fact that this eclipse is an annular one, which is extremely fascinating to astronomy lovers since it means the Moon covers the entirety of the Sun’s centre, forming a ‘ring of fire’ around it.
An example of a ‘ring of fire’ eclipse
The eclipse on June 21st 2020 could be seen best from Asia and parts of Africa. In its entirety, the eclipse lasted 3.75 hours, passing through regions for about a minute. Yet despite its lengthy duration, it was only at its peak for around 30 seconds. Covid-19 has meant that many of us have had to put a temporary pause on some aspects of life for a while, staying sheltered at home in efforts to keep the virus at bay. However, alongside our initial panic with the virus, a sense of boredom has begun to settle in, despite restrictions across the globe being eased. Whilst this is not a cure for boredom, this event that passed us just a few days ago had both darkened the skies and brightened up many people’s monotonous routines in quarantine.
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