While a total eclipse was visible from the Faroe Islands and the Svalbard Islands, regions of Europe, northern Africa and northern Asia was treated to a partial one
.jpg "The eclipse was the only total solar eclipse of 2015 (Credit: Alex Polezhaev/Flickr)")
The breathtaking solar eclipse viewed by millions of people in the United Kingdom and northern Europe on Friday morning was a rare sight. It was the only total solar eclipse this year and there will not be any other like this one in another 19 years, say news reports.
According to a NASA release, the total solar eclipse was visible from the Faroe Islands, located northwest of Scotland, and the Svalbard Islands, located east of Greenland. Surrounding regions of Europe, northern Africa and northern Asia was treated to a partial eclipse.
A solar eclipse occurs when the moon passes between the earth and the sun, thus casting a shadow over our planet. The moon’s shadow masks the sun’s surface and blocks its light from reaching earth directly, but the amount of sunlight blocked also depends on the location. Total solar eclipses block the entire disk of the sun, NASA says.
So, what are the things which made this eclipse so rare? As stated earlier, it was the only total solar eclipse of 2015. Normally, total solar eclipses rarely happen. On an average, there are only one to two total solar eclipses in a year. According to reports, after Friday’s event, only four more total solar eclipses will take place between now and 2020.
Interesting points about the eclipse
The March 20 solar eclipse was the first one in the 21st century which occurred on the same day as the first day of spring. For the moon to block out the sun completely on vernal equinox is a rare phenomenon. A thing like this will not happen again until 2034. After that, only two such events will take place in 2053 and 2072 before the next turn of the century. The equinox marks the beginning of spring and occurs when the night lasts as long as the day.
There are certain solar eclipses that occur in periodic cycles and this one was a part of the Saros cycle 120 — a highly-studied set of eclipses. The cycle refers to a specific set of solar eclipses that take place every 18 years and is visible from the same regions on the earth. The first such event took place in 933 AD and the next one in the cycle will take place on March 30, 2033.
There was also the special quality about the moon this time as it looked larger and appeared brighter than usual during the eclipse. The moon is not always at a same distance from the earth. When it is either a full moon or a new moon and orbits closest to the earth, it is called a supermoon. Full moons that are also supermoons can appear as much as 14 per cent larger in the sky. There are, on an average, four to six supermoons every year. The next supermoon that coincides with a brilliantly bright full moon will be on September 27.
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