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For the first time in more than 20 years, Singapore will be able to witness the rare sighting of an annular solar eclipse.
The day after Christmas, December 26, people here will be able to capture the vision of a black moon surrounded by a ring of light. But in parts of the South Pacific Ocean, Chile and Argentina may witness a total solar eclipse earlier on July 2.
A solar eclipse is caused by the movement of the moon between the sun and the earth in its orbit, preventing the sun's light from reaching the earth.
In an annular solar eclipse, the Moon covers the center of the Sun but is too far from Earth to erase it entirely, leaving the outer edges of the Sun visible in a "ring of fire".
One must be located in the area where the moon appears completely inside the sun's light disc to catch an annular solar eclipse.
Mr. Remus Chua, founder of SingAstro (an online astronomy forum) and the NUS astronomy company, both in 1997, explained the rarity of the Boxing Day event: " The path of solar eclipses is usually a narrow thin line that crosses the Earth.The opportunity for such sharp lines to cross a small island like Singapore, thus allowing the phenomenon to spread to the whole country, is very rare . "
The 43-year-old geospatial consultant has been an astronomy enthusiast since 1992, but has not yet experienced an annular solar eclipse and hopes to see it for himself. He expects scientists and tourists to visit Singapore to observe it as well.
During the eclipse, there will be a partial darkness, as if it were dusk. Mr. Chua described solar eclipses as having a "dynamic atmosphere". When the moon covers the sun, the wind conditions will change and the winds will be stronger in open areas.
On December 26 at 11:27, Singapore will undergo a partial solar eclipse, during which the Moon blocks part of the Sun and gives the appearance of a black shadow on the Sun.
This will turn into an annular solar eclipse at 13:22, when the Moon will pass directly in front of the Sun. The eclipse will reach its apogee at 13:23 as the Moon is then closest to the center of the Sun.
At 13:24, the solar annular eclipse will end and Singapore will again experience a partial solar eclipse which, in turn, will end at 3:18 pm.
According to the Singapore Astronomical Society, the solar annular eclipse is best seen from the southern part of Singapore, where the ring of light around the moon will appear more evenly in thickness than in the north.
RARE PHENOMENON
The path of solar eclipses is usually a thin narrow line that crosses the Earth. The opportunity for such sharp lines to cross a small island like Singapore, allowing the phenomenon to spread to the whole country, is very rare.
Mr. REMUS CHUA, founder of SingAstro (an online astronomy forum) and the NUS Astronomy Society, explains the scarcity of the solar eclipse of Boxing Day.
To safely observe the phenomenon, use sun filter glasses, which can be purchased at Science Center Singapore.
For a less exciting but earlier eclipse, a partial, thin lunar eclipse will hit Singapore on July 17th.
Due to orbital alignment, solar and lunar eclipses always occur in pairs, with space of about two weeks between them. This eclipse follows the total solar eclipse of July 2nd.
Between 2:43 am and 8:17 am, the people of Singapore can see, without protection for the eyes, a dark shadow on the moon as part of it passes behind the Earth and passes in its shadow.
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