Ring solar eclipse!

At the 21st of June

On the morning of June 21st, we expect a wonderful surprise. The annular ring solar eclipse will be visible from Cyprus but will be visible as a partial eclipse. The annular eclipse is an impressive phenomenon in which the moon's disk overlaps the sun's disk and the sun remains visible only like a ring.

Unfortunately in Cyprus due to location, we will watch part of this solar eclipse which will be fully visible only in countries such as Congo, Ethiopia, Central Africa, South Pakistan, South India, and China.

Solar eclipses occur when the Moon, while orbiting the Earth, aligns and passes in front of the Sun, thus casting its shadow on the Earth's surface and obscuring either part of the sun or the entire Sun. When part of the Sun is hidden, the eclipse is called partial, while when the entire Sun is hidden, the eclipse is called total. 

When the Moon is near its apogee – that is, at the furthest point in its orbit – and at the same time a solar eclipse occurs, then, from the Earth's surface, the Moon appears to have a smaller diameter than the Sun, so the eclipse cannot be total, but annular.

In Cyprus, the partial eclipse will be visible at 08:28 on the morning of Sunday 21 June, while the phenomenon will last 1 hour and 53 minutes. Also, the size of the eclipse in Cyprus is 0.37%, i.e. it will cover about a fourth of the sun.

Those who want to see it, should use only appropriate special glasses and filters to protect their eyes from damage from the sun's rays. Those who use telescopes should be especially careful because telescopes should have special filters to be able to see the eclipse safely.