A Total Solar Eclipse of the Sun on August 1

The first total solar eclipse in two years will take place on August 1. This will only be for parts of the world, other parts will see a partial eclipse.

On Friday August 1, there will be a special solar eclipse of the sun. It is the first total eclipse for parts of the world, in two years. A large part of the globe will see a partial eclipse, it includes a large area of western and central Asia, parts of north and central Europe, a piece of North America and all of Greenland. For a few of us lucky peeps, we will see a full eclipse.

A total solar eclipse — the first in nearly two and a half years — will be visible along a narrow track that will start over the Northwest Passage of Canada, gives a glancing blow to northern Greenland, then shifts southeast through Siberia and western Mongolia and before ending near the famed Silk Route of China.

The path of totality for this upcoming eclipse is never more than 157 miles (252 km) wide.

The beginning of the eclipse is expected to take place from sunrise over Northern Canada, Queen Maud Gulf.

where the moon's umbra will first touch down on the Earth, resulting in Canada's hosting its first total solar eclipse since February 26, 1979.

As it crests the horizon the moon will completely overshadow the sun's disk, falling over the Northwest Passage which connect the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. Today this area belongs to the new territory of Nunavut which became self-governing, April 1, 1999.

Although the umbral shadow narrowly misses the towns of Cambridge Bay on Victoria Island, and Resolute on Cornwallis Island, its northern edge just clips the northernmost permanently inhabited place in the world: Canada's remote outpost of Alert, which lies just 508 miles (817 km) from the North Pole and has a population of just 5. Here, totality will last 43 seconds.

An eclipse expedition is planning to attempt to track the eclipse in the high North. An Airbus A330-200 twin engine long range aircraft will follow a flight plan specifically designed for the purpose of viewing this eclipse is provided by an air charter company, Deutsche Polarflug (AirEvents).

Glenn Schneider, from the University of Arizona's Steward Observatory and a veteran of 26 total eclipses, has worked out the detailed formulation of the flight plan. He is targeting a point from the high polar north, at approximately +83-degrees latitude and about 440 nautical miles from the North Pole at an altitude of 37,000 feet above the Arctic Ocean.

This will be a unique event in the annals of solar eclipse-chasing since there are no records of any total solar eclipse observations as far north as this.

Although total solar eclipses are not scarce in the polar regions, accessibility to them are extremely difficult. Until now total solar eclipses have been elusive. The first total solar eclipse ever to be observed from the Antarctic, was on 23 November 2003, the first in history. For those of you planning to view this event life, you are reminded to take the proper precautions.

Once again it needs repeating: to look at the sun without proper eye protection is dangerous. Even if you are in the path of the total eclipse you will need to protect your eyes during the partial phases.

* The Science Behind the Eclipse * Galleries: Solar Eclipse in 2005 and 2006 * Local Viewing Circumstances (PDF file)