British astronomers will have the opportunity to see a partial solar eclipse this weekend as the Moon passes between the Earth and the Sun.
Almost a third of the Sun will be masked by the Moon on Thursday morning.
An annular eclipse occurs when the Sun and the Moon are exactly aligned with the Earth, but the apparent size of the Moon is smaller than that of the Sun.
This causes the Sun to appear as a very bright ring, or ring, in a phenomenon called a “ring of fire.”
However, observers in the UK and Ireland will see a crescent of the Sun instead of a ring, as it will be a partial eclipse.
Dr Emily Drabek-Maunder, astronomer at the Royal Observatory Greenwich, told the PA news agency: “This ‘ring of fire’ will be seen from Russia, Greenland and northern Canada.
“From the UK, the annular solar eclipse will be a partial eclipse, which means we will only see the Moon pass in front of a small part of the Sun.”
She said the phenomenon would start at 10:08 a.m. on June 10 in the UK, with the maximum eclipse occurring at 11:13 a.m., when the Moon will cover nearly a third of the Sun.
The partial eclipse will end at 12:22 p.m.
Even though much of the sun’s disk will be covered, looking at the partially eclipsed Sun without proper protection can cause serious and permanent eye damage.
Dr Drabek-Maunder said: “The UK eclipse will only be visible with certain optical techniques and aids.
“Never look at the sun directly and never use standard sunglasses, it can cause serious damage to your eyes.”
It is also not recommended to view the Sun through binoculars, telescopes or a telephoto lens on an SLR camera.
Dr Drabek-Maunder suggests using a simple pinhole projector, solar eclipse viewing goggles – which can be purchased online, or special solar filters – which can be mounted on telescopes, to observe the ‘eclipse.
She said, “You can make a spotlight by drilling a small hole in a piece of card.
“Hold the card towards the sun so the light shines through the hole and onto a piece of paper behind the card.
“You will be able to see the shape of the Sun projected onto the piece of paper and watch its shape change as the Moon passes in front of the Sun.”
The Royal Observatory Greenwich is also broadcasting the eclipse live on its website and YouTube channel.
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Source: www.times-series.co.uk
This notice was published: 2021-06-08 06:30:00
