The world is preparing for a rare solar eclipse scheduled for August 12. On this day, the sun will temporarily disappear behind the moon, creating a breathtaking astronomical spectacle as daylight transitions to night.
The eclipse will cover parts of the Northern Hemisphere and the Mediterranean. Astronomy enthusiasts are eagerly anticipating this event and conducting thorough preparations for safe viewing.
As sunset approaches, darkness will fall over the Iberian Peninsula, as well as small areas of Greenland and Iceland. According to The Independent, at this moment, the sun, moon, and Earth will align perfectly in the sky.
A longer eclipse next year
The total eclipse will begin near the North Pole, moving south, and last for two minutes and 18 seconds. This event marks the beginning of a longer solar phenomenon next year, which will last six and a half minutes and stretch from Spain to North Africa and the Middle East.
Daytime darkness
The Moon's shadow, or umbra, will travel 8,260 kilometers in an hour and a half, with most of this path passing over the open Atlantic Ocean. The peak of the total eclipse will reach the west coast of Iceland.
When the shadow reaches a small area of Portugal and then Spain, where a large crowd is expected, the total eclipse will diminish to one minute and end in the Mediterranean Sea. A partial eclipse will be visible in remote regions such as Alaska and Siberia, and it will also cover Canada, the northern US, most of Europe, and West Africa. The closer one is to the path of totality, the more of the sun will be hidden by the moon.
The sun will cover 94 percent of Dublin and 83 percent of Oslo in Norway. Montreal will see 18 percent of the sun disappear, and New York will see nine percent, while Norfolk, Virginia, will only show two percent.
Safety rules for observing the eclipse
According to NASA, even if only a small part of the sun is visible, using special eclipse glasses is mandatory. One must observe the eclipse through specialized glasses or a portable solar projector.
Direct observation without protective glasses or a projector is only possible at one moment—during the brief period of totality when the moon completely covers the sun's disk.
