Paris (AFP)
The inhabitants of the northern hemisphere can observe Thursday, with caution, a solar eclipse which will travel a strip of about 500 km running from Canada to Siberia, passing through Europe, where it is only partial but all likewise dangerous for the eyes.
At the peak of this so-called annular eclipse, Earthlings will see the Moon slowly glide in front of the Sun, to transform it for a few minutes into a thin luminous ring, like a "circle of fire" in the June sky.
Show reserved for the few inhabitants of the highest latitudes, who are right in the axis: North-West of Canada, far-North of Russia, North-West of Greenland and North Pole, where the occultation of the solar disk will graze the 90%.
The annular eclipse will also be visible, but only partially, in northwestern North America, much of Europe, including France and Great Britain, as well as part of the North. from Asia.
The phenomenon will last about two hours, between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. in mainland France, with a maximum between 11:55 a.m. and 12:20 p.m.
It is however imperative not to look at the star directly, even with sunglasses or through a cloud, at the risk of retinal burns.
This is the first annular eclipse of the year 2021, and the sixteenth of the 21st century.
This astronomical phenomenon occurs during the New Moon period, when Earth, Moon and Sun are perfectly aligned.
If the apparent diameter of the Moon is less than that of the Sun, part of the crown of fire remains visible.
A total eclipse, which briefly plunges part of the planet into darkness, occurs when the diameter of the Moon exactly matches that of the Sun, as seen from Earth.
This phenomenon, more rare, was notably observable from France in August 1999.
© 2021 AFP