When it comes to celestial events, 2021 has certainly been working hard. It’s only June and we’ve already experienced a combined lunar eclipse and super full blood moon as well as a strawberry moon, and a pink supermoon. Oh, and in case you weren’t aware, Mercury is currently in retrograde, making things pretty interesting when it comes to communication and technology.
Well, this month is busy again with a ‘ring of fire’ solar eclipse taking place on June 10. According to timeanddate, a solar eclipse always occurs roughly two weeks before or after a lunar eclipse. And, seeing as we witnessed a lunar eclipse on May 26, it was just a matter of time before the solar eclipse followed.
This solar eclipse will be a special sight, as it involves the moon moving between the sun and the Earth, which casts a shadow on Earth and blocks some of the sun’s light, creating the ring effect. “During an annular eclipse, the Moon is far enough away from Earth that the Moon appears smaller than the Sun in the sky,” NASA explains. “Since the Moon does not block the entire view of the Sun, it will look like a dark disk on top of a larger, bright disk. This creates what looks like a ring of fire around the Moon.”
Unfortunately, for those of us in Australia, we won’t actually be able to see the event in the sky. As per timeanddate, this solar eclipse will only really be visible from parts of Russia, Greenland and Northern Russia. A partial eclipse will be visible in Northern Asia, Europe and the United States, should the weather be permitting. So, while the eclipse won’t be visible for us Down Under, you can still watch the event unfold online.
On Thursday, June 10, hop on to YouTube to watch timeanddate’s live stream of the annular solar eclipse. As for what time you can watch the magic unfold, the partial eclipse will begin at 6:12pm AEST, with the maximum eclipse occurring at 8:41pm. Jump online anytime from 6pm to keep up with the coverage of the eclipse.
While it won’t be quite as special as it was watching the lunar eclipse in person last month, it’s still an exciting event that is surely worth the watch!
