In a few days’ time, our moon will slowly glide in front of the sun, creating a breathtaking and ethereal total solar eclipse for those lucky enough to be in certain spots of the world.
On March 20, the event will occur across the far northern regions of Europe and the Arctic, beginning off the southern coasts of Greenland and then sweeping towards the Danish-owned Faroe Islands and the Norwegian Arctic territory of Svalbard. It will then continue winding counter-clockwise until the moon’s shadow eventually leaves Earth’s surface just before the North Pole, according to space.com. The longest time that the sun will be completely shielded by the moon is 2 minutes and 46 seconds.
But don’t worry about missing out if you don’t live in a good viewing spot because a Slooh expedition team will be documenting the whole thing from the Faroe Islands, starting at 4:30 am EDT, or 8:30 am GMT. You can see the free live broadcast (here).
“Nothing—and I mean absolutely nothing in nature—is as powerful and spectacular as the totality of a solar eclipse,” says Slooh Astronomer Bob Berman. “Sadly, they only happen every 360 years on average for any given location, which means that a very low percentage of the population has ever seen one… Slooh has sent a team equipped with specialized, proprietary equipment to bring this spectacle live to the rest of our planet. This event should not be missed.”
Although our sun is around 400 times larger than the moon, we are lucky enough to be able to experience total solar eclipses because of the fact that the sun is, coincidentally, 400 times farther away. Alongside experiencing an eerie darkness, those in Britain will also experience a dip in temperature by around 3oC during the event.
Via IFL Science
