Stunning solar eclipse wows Israelis Sunday morning
The phenomenon won't be seen again in Israel until 2027.
By DONNA RACHEL EDMUNDSSolar eclipse over Israel, June 21, 2020(photo credit: AVSHALOM SASSONI)
One of the most awe-inspiring natural phenomena took place in Israel on Sunday morning, when a partial eclipse dimmed the sun's light for nearly two hours.As the moon passed between the sun and the earth it first appeared to touch the sun's edge at 7:25 a.m. in Jerusalem, a minute later in Tel Aviv, moving to maximum eclipse at 8:24 in Jerusalem when approximately 35% of the sun was blotted out. The spectacle lasted until 9:30 a.m. in the capital, when the moon finally left the sun's edge behind.The phenomenon won't be seen again in Israel until 2027.Solar eclipses happen between two and five times a year, and are normally named for their maximum point, when the moon covers the most area of the sun. In this case, the full solar eclipse tracked a path starting in Republic of Congo in West Africa minutes after the sunrises, at 5:48 a.m. From there, it headed through South Sudan and Ethiopia before moving across the sea to Yemen and Oman, passing across the southern reaches of Saudi Arabia. It then moved across the sea again to dim the skies of Pakistan and northern India, before moving through Tibet, China, and finally Taiwan. From there it will head out into the Pacific where the spectacle will come to and end at about 6:32 p.m. local time, shortly before sunset.The narrow band which experiences the full solar eclipse was cast fully into the darkest part of the shadow of the moon, known as the umbra, turning day to night. The point of maximum duration will be in the Congo, where the effect will last a full one minute and 22 seconds, while the point of maximal coverage will be over Uttarakhand, India near the border with China at 12:10 local time, where 98.96% of the sun's disk will be covered over, leaving a "ring of fire" effect at the edges.The partial eclipse will be seen by a far larger area, as the moon casts the outer part of its shadow, the penumbra, over a far wider area. This will be experienced all the way from Mozambique and South Africa to Romania, Ukraine and central Russia in the North.2020 sees two solar eclipses. Sunday's happens to fall on the longest day of the year, but another will pass across South America and the Pacific and Atlantic oceans in December, when the moon will block the sun's light entirely as it will be closer to Earth at that time.Those wanting to view the event should not look directly at the sun, as the UV radiation emitted in its rays can burn the eye's retinas, causing damage and even blindness. Instead, protective eclipse glasses (not sunglasses as they do not filter the UV rays effectively), are available. However, the safest way to watch the eclipse is by using a pinhole projector – a tiny hole made in card through which sunlight passes in a narrow band, shining a spotlight on a piece of paper or other smooth white surface behind it (a paper plate is ideal). But don't worry if you don't have anything to hand, any material that filters the sun's rays through a narrow gap will cast the same effect, including the leaves of trees.
