This year is throwing surprises out of nowhere every day. However, June 21, 2020, has got to be the most interesting day in a long time. Today is celebrated as World Music Day, Father’s Day, and is also the longest day of the year as it is the beginning of summer solstice. But another interesting fact for the day is the occurrence of an annular solar eclipse.
This year the beginning of the solar solstice coincided with the annular solar eclipse. This incident took place while the moon could not book the sun completely. However, this leads to the formation of the “Ring of Fire” according to the astronomers. This is a once in a lifetime incident that you get to watch.
The best chances of viewing are in parts of Africa through to Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, India and China – unfortunately this event will not be visible from Europe.
Viewing details 👉 https://t.co/EWGZeliTOb pic.twitter.com/B8UI6h2NF1
— ESA (@esa) June 18, 2020
Annular Solar Eclipse 2020: A total recap
The path of the eclipse totality, when the Earth, Moon, and Sun are perfectly aligned, passed from west to east over 12 countries on 21 June 2020. A partial eclipse was also visible at various times in dozens of other countries, though poor weather across South East Asia made viewing difficult. A live stream of the eclipse was broadcast as it passed directly over Africa, the Middle East, and Asia.
The solar eclipse was amazing to look at as the entire event went through 9 phases. In the maximum position, people could see the amazing “Ring of Fire” formation until it slowly faded off with the passing of time.
“Ring of fire” another view on solar eclipse. #SolarEclipse2020 #solareclipse pic.twitter.com/fSVzjhWk6g
— Shen Shiwei沈诗伟 (@shen_shiwei) June 21, 2020
The entire event keeps us waiting for more such beautiful scenarios. In terms of the pandemic, there is no positive news as such. Turns out that the research claims about the solar eclipse killing Coronavirus were false.
Eclipse as seen from Delhi – shot by @tashitobgyal #SolarEclipseJune2020 pic.twitter.com/jmlxg9Ikjw
— Seema Chishti (@seemay) June 21, 2020
There’s not too long to wait for the next solar eclipse. Less than six months until a total solar eclipse on 10 December 2020, which will pass over South America and the southern tip of Africa. Till then you can watch the live stream provided and enjoy the beauty of our universe.
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Suryapratim Ray is an engineer, author, robotics hobbyist, and an active Quoran. Being a technical blogger, he covers the good, bad, and ugly of science on a regular basis at Sciencenews18. In addition to his passion for writing, he’s equally keen on learning classical music.