Eclipse: A circle of fire around the Moon in the skies of Africa and Asia - 20 Minutes

Many amateur astronomers in Africa and Asia were able to observe Sunday for the summer solstice, a rare solar eclipse of the "ring of fire" type. This astronomical phenomenon, which occurs only once or twice a year, started soon after sunrise in central Africa, passing through the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), South Sudan and Ethiopia . It then continued towards Asia, to finish in the Pacific Ocean, south of the island of Guam after having notably crossed India and China.

In this type of eclipse, the Moon passes in front of the Sun, in an alignment with the Earth sufficiently perfect to hide it. But not entirely, as during a total eclipse: the Moon not being close enough to Earth, it is an annular eclipse, that is to say that at its maximum, there remains a ring around the Sun, called "ring of fire".

"Maximum" eclipse in India

It was above India, in the state of Uttarakhand, near the border with China that the eclipse was "maximum" at 12:10 p.m. local time. The Earth, the Moon and the Sun were perfectly aligned for 38 small seconds. In Nairobi, the capital of Kenya, a little away from the ideal route, the curious could only observe a partial eclipse, the clouds appearing for a few seconds at the precise moment when the Moon should have come to hide almost entirely the Sun .

Despite everything, "it was very exciting, because I am obsessed with eclipses," said Susan Murabana, founder with her husband of the educational program "Traveling telescope" (AFP). Installed with their telescope on the roof of a residential area, they observed the eclipse to dozens of people, via the Facebook and Zoom platforms.

An event disrupted by the coronavirus

Normally, she and her husband would probably have taken people to camp near Lake Magadi (South), where the sky is generally clearer. But due to the coronavirus, movement into and out of Nairobi is prohibited. In the Gulf countries, the observation of the phenomenon was thwarted by the humidity and dust of the summer heat.

In Sri Lanka, also due to Covid-19, the planetarium was closed to avoid gatherings. Only a small group of about fifteen students gathered around a telescope at the University of Colombo, the capital, broadcasting the images of the eclipse live on Facebook. Finally, in Hong Kong, dozens of spectators, experienced astronomers with telescopes or families, gathered in a seaside park to attend the 90-minute show. The crowd cried out in joy as the clouds cleared making the eclipse clearly visible.

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