We Will See a Solar Eclipse on Saturday
At the end of the week, a partial solar eclipse will occur, which will also be visible from Slovakia. As the Moon orbits the Earth, it will pass between the Earth and the Sun, partially or completely covering the solar disk. Unlike a lunar eclipse, which can be observed from an entire hemisphere of the Earth, a solar eclipse is visible only along a narrow strip on the Earth's surface. The diameter of the Moon’s shadow on Earth’s surface is approximately 160 km at our latitudes.
"Due to the Earth's rotation, the Moon's orbit around the Earth, and the Earth's orbit around the Sun, the Moon's shadow moves across the Earth's surface from west to east at a speed of about 1-2 km/s. During a single eclipse, it can travel up to 15,000 km across the Earth's surface. The solar eclipse on March 29 will be visible from northeastern America, the northern part of the Atlantic Ocean, Europe, and the northern part of Russia. Even in its maximum phase (in northeastern Canada), it will be a partial eclipse, with more than 92% of the solar disk covered," explains Ján Svoreň from the Astronomical Institute of the Slovak Academy of Sciences (SAS).
From Slovakia, the maximum phase will cover between 1.8% of the solar disk in Čierna nad Tisou and 6.0% in Holíč in the Záhorie region. The eclipse will occur under favorable conditions around noon when the Sun is high above the horizon and will last for about an hour. The eclipse will begin in Bratislava at 11:43, in Košice at 11:57, with the maximum coverage occurring at 12:23, and the eclipse ending across Slovakia between 12:52 and 12:57.
"If you want to observe this beautiful phenomenon, protect your eyesight. Even a brief direct glance at the Sun can cause permanent eye damage, so I recommend using special eclipse glasses with built-in solar filters. A good alternative is welding glass. However, sunglasses—even very dark ones—are not sufficient for eye protection," warns the astronomer.
Total solar eclipses at the same location on Earth’s surface are rare. Statistically, a total solar eclipse occurs at the same place only once every 360 years. For example, the last total solar eclipse visible from present-day Slovakia occurred on July 8, 1842, and the next one will be visible on October 7, 2135.
Author: Ján Svoreň, Astronomical Institute of SAS
Images: Vojtech Rušin and Pavol Rapavý, Astronomical Institute of SAS