A “ring of fire” will appear over parts of the Middle East and Asia this December. The spectacle will be visible from a 100-mile-wide path of annularity that stretches from Saudi Arabia to the South Pacific islands of Guam. The event is largely a partial solar eclipse, with the “ring” event lasting just a few minutes. It will be visible at sunrise on the Arabian Peninsula (Saudi Arabia, Qatar, UAE and Oman), and later in the day in southern India, northern Sri Lanka, the Indian Ocean and Indonesia. Skywatchers in those areas will have to be quick if they want to see it, with the eclipse only lasting for a maximum of three minutes and 40 seconds. After an eclipsed sunrise in Saudi Arabia, the path crosses Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Oman, India, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, the Northern Mariana Islands, and Guam before sunset. According to TimeandDate.com, the first part of the partial eclipse will begin at 02.29 UTC on Boxing Day, with the last part occurring at 08.05 UTC. At the peak of this eclipse, the middle of the Sun will appear to be missing and the dark Moon will appear to be surrounded by the bright Sun. Remember to never look directly at the Sun. All observers will need to wear solar eclipse glasses at all times and attempts to photograph it will require special solar filters. An annular solar eclipse happens because the moon is farther away than usual in its orbit around Earth, and it doesn’t fully cover the disk of the Sun. It’s the most beautiful type of solar eclipse, but it’s also the most dangerous, according to experts.
Clear skies!
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