On Thursday 1st September 2016 an annular solar eclipse will be visible from Réunion Island.
A solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes between Earth and the Sun, thereby totally or partly obscuring the image of the Sun for a viewer on Earth. An annular solar eclipse occurs when the Moon's apparent diameter is smaller than the Sun's, blocking most of the Sun's light (in this case 97%) and causing the Sun to look like an annulus (ring).
 |
| example of an annular solar eclipse |
 |
| path of the eclipse |
While the whole eclipse will last from 06:13–12:00 UT, the point of maximum eclipse will last 186 seconds (3 minutes 6 seconds), and the maximum width of the band will be 100km (62 miles). It will be seen across central Africa southwards to Madagascar and into the Indian Ocean. The partial eclipse will be visible across most of Africa and parts of the Middle East. The points of Greatest Eclipse and Greatest Duration will be in southern Tanzania.
 |
| path of the eclipse |
Most of Réunion will see the annular eclipse at about 10:09 UT. Although the island is not on the centreline, the duration in the south-west (near St Pierre) should be quite good, as the centreline duration is still over 3 minutes.
 |
| map showing path of eclipse over Reunion © MICHEL VIGNAND |
The last solar eclipse visible on Réunion was on 21st June 2001.
For more information:
- Annular Solar Eclipse of 2016 Sep 01 - NASA
- Annular Solar Eclipse of 1 Sep, 2016 AD - Moonblink
No comments:
Post a Comment