Get Ready. Shields Up. Eclipse, On.
Friday, March 20, between 8 a.m. and 10 a.m. GMT, the Northern Hemisphere will be rocked by a total solar eclipse. The eclipse will be total over the Arctic Ocean and nearer to total the nearer to Arctic Ocean latitudes your own geographical position is.
Total eclipse will reign in a swath of sky over the Arctic Ocean, which includes the Faroe Islands, a self-governing parliamentary nation within the Kingdom of Denmark, and the Svalbard archipelago of Norway. The final sweep of the path of eclipse will curve up northeast before completing its ecliptic course just before approaching the North Pole.
The Eclipse
A total solar eclipse occurs when the moon’s shadow covers Earth as the disk of the Sun is completely obscured (in some part of the world or other) by the shape of the moon. The ecliptical alignment of Earth, moon and Sun allow the moon to seem to slide across the face of the Sun, hide it, then slide away from the Sun again. While the moon is in position to hide the Sun, the moon’s shadow is cast upon a small swath of west-east area across the face of the Earth. This shadowy umbra is what we call an eclipse. Maps showing the sweeping movement of the total eclipse are available on Space.com and Business Insider.
The eclipse will progress counterclockwise (left to right) in pendulum-swing style with a fractional shadowy beginning south of Greenland. It will sweep in gradual stages of increasing umbral shadow to its height of total eclipse southeast of Iceland. The ending phases of umbral shadow will be the same as the beginning were. Territory east of Iceland will experience declining eclipse as the shadow travels over the Arctic Ocean islands until the umbra (shadow) slides away from view near the globe’s northernmost region. The last time the Arctic Ocean and the frozen island retreats of Faroe and Svalbard were privileged to host a total eclipse was June 30, 1954.
All the Way from Scotland to Africa
The area of total eclipse is small enough, but the area of partial eclipse, where the geographical alignment and the curvature of Earth fall partially under the moon’s shadow, is quite vast, allowing those from Europe to North Africa a share in the solar eclipse as it stretches from Iceland and Scotland down to the Sahara and the Red and Black Seas and spans from Western Africa to Eastern Russia. Scientist Dr. John Mason writing for the UK’s top astronomy magazine, Astronomy Now, excitedly comments:
An obvious partial eclipse will be visible from every country in Europe and the partial phase will also be seen from places as widely spread as Newfoundland, North Africa and northwestern Asia.
Eclipse chasers will be joined by astronomers eager to capture the event. Live streaming allows those of us who can’t chase eclipses to view online through the courtesy of sites like Mashable, whose Travel Editor Jessica Plautz will be amongst the chasers in the Faroe Islands, with editors Blathnaid Healy and Tim Chester commentating from London.
Near Total Eclipse in Ireland and the UK
A total eclipse graced the skies over Ireland and the UK in August of 1999. With partial eclipses following after, this eclipse on Friday is the closest to a total eclipse since then. According to the British Astronomical Association, North Scotland will have a 97 percent near total eclipse while South England will have an 85 percent near total eclipse. Lasting about two hours and with variable start and finish times (earlier to west and south), the eclipse start time for Ireland and the UK is 8:26 a.m. (which is very precise for something that is so big and so variable). Maximum total eclipse will be at 9:31 a.m. The last shades of the fading penumbra (the half-shadow encircling thus following the umbra) will go at 10:41 a.m.
Partial Solar Eclipse, Partial Solar Power Loss
While northern Africa and Asia will experience as much as a 40 percent eclipse, Europe and northern Russia will experience as much as a 90 percent eclipse. This takes on serious consequences in today’s alternate energy milieu. Germany has an impressive solar power infrastructure. They get seven percent of the yearly energy output from solar panels. By comparison, the US gets less than one percent.
Half of Germany’s daily energy need is met by solar power alone on its sunniest days. When the eclipse darkens the solar panel arrays on Friday, Germany’s solar power infrastructure will be sorely stressed. Electric utilities will undergo rapid swings in production when power generation drops steeply off as the eclipse deepens, then spikes suddenly upward as the Sun reemerges. As reported to Mashable, utility companies are seeing the eclipse as a chance to find solutions to intermittencies in energy generation that, if left unprovided for, would cause outages or surges. The eclipse is forcing a test run of advance planning for known, anticipated intermittencies of power generation.
Next Chances for the World to See a Total Eclipse
The next chance for eclipse chasers to find an total eclipse will be March 9, 2016, in the seas of the Southern Hemisphere. The key land locations for the total eclipse will be Sumatra, Borneo and Sulawesi in the Indonesian Islands. Australia will have a view of a partial eclipse. North America, across the contiguous United States, will have the treat of a total eclipse the following year, in 2017.
Wherever You Are, Safely Watch the Eclipse
It is paramount that you not ever look directly at the Sun during an eclipse. Even the slimmest sliver of the Sun can burn your retina. You must use a safe and proper way of watching the eclipse. Proper protection for your eyes is paramount. If you fail to protect your eyes, you risk serious eye damage or blindness.
1. Do not look directly at the Sun to observe the eclipse.
2. Do use an approved, safe technique for watching the eclipse
3. Do take breaks in viewing. Do not watch continuously for long periods.
4. Do not ever use regular eyeglasses for watching an eclipse; there simply is not enough protection in regular sunglasses.
NASA advises that there are several approved, safe techniques for watching a solar eclipse. If you don’t want to buy eclipse glasses, which filter out ultra-violet and infrared light, NASA recommends the simplest technique is a pinhole camera with which sunlight passes through a small hole in one piece of cardboard to project an image of the growing or waning shadow on another, opposite piece of cardboard. If using a telescopic technique, be certain the telescope is fitted with a protective solar filter lens. Remember NASA’s advice:
No matter which recommended technique you choose, do not stare continuously at the [eclipse]. Take breaks and give your eyes a rest. And, remember, don’t use regular sunglasses — they don’t offer your eyes sufficient protection.
