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The first annular solar eclipse will occur this year over a large area of the Pacific Ocean. People residing in countries to the east of the International Date Line such as the Hawaiian and Cook Islands witnessed the eclipse yesterday, while places to the west of the International Date Line like Indonesia, Australia and New Zealand will observe the annular eclipse of the sun today.
The Astronomical Society in Jeddah explained that a solar eclipse happens whenever the new moon passes either partially or totally in front of the sun, while the annular eclipse and total eclipse occur when the moon passes directly in front of the sun.
When the annular eclipse occurs, the moon is too far away in its orbit (lunar apogee) to cover the sun completely, causing the sun to appear as a very bright ring (annulus) surrounding the dark disk of the moon. It is a rare form of solar eclipse.
The moon will reach its apogee on May 13 at 04:32 p.m. Makkah time, about three days and a half past the new moon, however the annular solar eclipse will not be viewable for residents in the Kingdom and the Arab region.
The path of the annular solar eclipse begins today at sunrise in Western Australia at 01:33 a.m. Makkah time, and ends at sunset some three hours and 40 minutes later over the Pacific Ocean at 05:15 a.m. Makkah time.
The greatest eclipse happens midway around 03:25 a.m. just to the west of the International Date Line, within a maximum of 6 minutes 3 seconds. The annular eclipse path is nearly 13,300 kilometers long but its varying width only extends from 171 to 225 km wide.
Annularity is fairly short-lived at any one spot, lasting about four minutes near the beginning and end of the eclipse path. The eclipse’s path will cross over 0.50 of the Earth’s surface.