A total solar eclipse.
(NASA / Aubrey Gemignani)
Some parts of the world will witness the last solar eclipse of the year, as the celestial event will grace the skies on Monday, December 14. However, the eclipse will not be visible in India this time, as it will. it will begin when the Sun has already set, at 7:03 pm IST on December 14, and will end at 12:23 am IST on December 15. It is observed that the time of the maximum eclipse is at 9:43 pm IST.
What is a solar eclipse?
A solar eclipse occurs when the Moon’s disk passes between the Sun and the Earth, and the shadow cast by the Moon temporarily blocks the Sun’s rays from reaching the Earth.
There are three types of solar eclipses: the partial solar eclipse, in which the Moon blocks only part of the Sun; the total solar eclipse, where the Sun is completely covered by the moon; and finally, the annual solar eclipse, when the Moon covers the center of the Sun, leaving the visible outer edges of the Sun to form a “ring of fire” or ring around the Moon.
What is a total solar eclipse?
A total solar eclipse occurs when the Moon comes between the Sun and Earth and casts its shadow on our home planet. A shadow is made up of two components: a dark inner circle where all sunlight is blocked, called the umbra; and an outer shadow area that blocks only part of the sunlight, called penumbra.
During a total solar eclipse, the Moon covers the entire solar disk, while in partial and annular solar eclipses, the Moon blocks only part of the Sun.
This next eclipse will be of magnitude 1.02, which means that at the time of the maximum eclipse, the Sun will be completely hidden by the shadow of the Moon. This “totality” is expected to last 2 minutes, 10 seconds.
What parts of the world will witness the eclipse?
Not many parts of the world are expected to witness the last eclipse of the year. The total solar eclipse would only be visible in parts of Chile and Argentina, while the partial eclipse will be perceptible from the Pacific Ocean, Antarctica, and southern South America.
The best cities to see the partial solar eclipse would be Santiago (Chile), São Paulo (Brazil), Buenos Aires (Argentina), Lima (Peru), Montevideo (Uruguay) and Asunción (Paraguay).
On average, around 2 to 5 solar eclipses occur each year, and they can only be seen in limited parts of the world at a time. The year 2020 has two solar eclipses, the first of which on June 21, 2020, and also visible in India.
On the other hand, the occurrence of 5 solar eclipses in a year is very rare. According to NASA, only 25 of the last 5,000 years have witnessed 5 solar eclipses. The last time this happened was in 1935, and the next time it is expected will be in the year 2206.
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