Annular eclipses do not happen often and this year’s rare solar eclipse known as ‘Ring of Fire’ will take place on February 26 and many parts of the globe will have a chance to view it. The total solar eclipse will start, and it will look like a piece of the sun has been bitten off. This bite will grow bigger and will cover 90% of the sun with a discernible fall in sunlight and heat. As the eclipse progresses to its peak, the Moon will completely cover the sun, and its outer regions will look just like a ring. The ring of fire will last just for a minute and will travel at an incredible speed of 2414 kilometers per hour across the surface of the earth.
Chance for viewing the ring of fire
The total solar eclipse will be visible in a 62-mile band which will be passing through Argentina, Chile, Angola, DR Congo It will be a spectacular view for the residents of South America and the Southern African nations. The eclipse will start in the South East Pacific Ocean at sunrise and will first hit land in Chile near the town of Coyhaique at 1221 GMTand passing through Argentina will reach South Atlantic.
For persons who are not inside this band of optimum viewing, the event will not be visible in all its glory, but still, it will be a visual treat. The whole event from start to the end will last for about 120 minutes with the ring of fire lasting only for a minute.
A "ring of fire" eclipse will be visible from parts of the Southern Hemisphere on Feb. 26. Learn more: https://t.co/3grlEs5y3y pic.twitter.com/8CJcChJSnH
— NASASunEarth (@NASASunEarth) February 24, 2017
Google and Berkley University will make a crowdsourced film of August eclipse
Another eclipse will happen in August, and the event will be filmed extensively, and it will be made into a full-length feature film, a crowdsourced Megamovie, a project under the aegis of Google and the University of California, Berkeley.
See Sunday's 'Ring of Fire' eclipse from anywhere! Here's how: https://t.co/CuXEn1PLrL pic.twitter.com/DSuZ6sGzK9
— The Weather Network (@weathernetwork) February 25, 2017
For any person on the ground, the window of opportunity will last only for a maximum of two minutes and forty seconds. The Eclipse Megamovie Project will involve 1000 volunteers who will video graph the event in HD and then upload it to a website. The collected imagery will then be stitched together to create a 90-minute film. The film will be used by astronomers to unravel the secrets of the sun.
