A solar eclipse occurs when the Moon comes directly between the Sun and Earth. But this time the Moon’s disk will be slightly smaller than the Sun’s. Eclipses like this are called annular because of the ring of solar brightness visible in the middle of the eclipse.
Visible in much of the Northern Hemisphere, an annular solar eclipse will take place on the morning of Thursday, June 10. The Moon will pass right in front of the Sun, erasing up to 38% of its disk . In Europe the solar eclipse will be seen partially.
Tips: don’t look at it directly
The Royal Astronomical Society (RAS) has warned that, during the eclipse, it is extremely dangerous to simply look up to contemplate it. There are several ways to observe it safely, using both everyday materials such as telescopes or binoculars. The sun is so bright, especially when it’s high in June, that proper filters have to be so dense that you can’t normally see through them .
According to NASA , if you don’t have solar or eclipse glasses, a pinhole projector can also be used. However, it highlights that pinhole projectors should not be used to look directly at the Sun, but to project sunlight onto a surface.
If you don’t have special glasses for eclipse viewing, there is also a good way to see the progress of the eclipse using nothing more elaborate than a small mirror. A compact or small shaving mirror is ideal, especially if it has a holder to hold it in position. Use the flat side, not the concave or the rising side. All you need to do is cover the mirror with paper that you have cut a hole of about 4mm in.
Then light up the reflection of the sun from the mirror in a room or on any surface that is in the shade . You will see a circular point of light that is in fact an image of the Sun. A projection distance of about 5 meters works perfectly, giving an image about 50mm wide, and you can see the image on a wall or on a white paper or whatever you have on hand.
Where to see it
The partial eclipse will be visible in northern North America, Europe, and Asia. It will start in the Atlantic Ocean, at a latitude of 23º, and will end southeast of Kumul, in the Xinjiang autonomous region (China). The total duration of the phenomenon will be 299 minutes (almost 5 hours).
In Spain, the eclipse will be seen as partial. It will have a magnitude (fraction of the solar diameter hidden by the Moon) of 0.2 on the northwest coast (A Coruña), around 0.1 in the interior and northeast of the peninsula, and around 0.02 or somewhat higher in the southeast, in the Balearic Islands and in the Canary Islands.
From Madrid, the eclipse will begin at 11:01 am, the maximum will be at 11:43 am (at which time the magnitude will be 0.12) and will end at 12:29 pm, with a total duration of 88 minutes and on the page The National Geographic Institute will consult the schedule of all the provincial capitals.
Next Thursday, June 10, we will see a partial solar eclipse in Spain. If you want to know why it occurs, how to observe it safely, or how it will look from any provincial capital, visit our website dedicated to this phenomenon: https: / /t.co/tLE1eYUXX9 pic.twitter.com/vjxYYM98Wa
– Royal Observatory (@RObsMadrid) June 3, 2021