Scotland Set for 'Ring of Fire' Solar Eclipse

[ShiningIce]

LONDON (Reuters) - Thousands of skygazers are expected in Scotland on Saturday to watch an annular eclipse of the sun, the first visible in Britain for more than 80 years.



The best views of the event will had be on the northern coast of Scotland at sunrise, provided the notoriously unstable Scottish weather allows for clear skies.


An annular eclipse occurs when the moon covers the center of the sun but not its edges, so that a ring of light is left around the moon. The point of greatest eclipse is timed for 4:08 a.m. (0308 GMT).


Weather permitting, the spectacle is expected to rival the solar eclipse in Cornwall in 1999. Spectators have been warned to view it with special goggles or by reflecting the image on to screens to avoid eye damage.


Annular eclipses are rare -- the last one in the UK was in 1921 and the next one will be in 2093.


Saturday's eclipse can also be seen on the Hebrides, Orkney and Shetland Islands, as well as in Iceland and Greenland.


As is tradition during an eclipse, astronomers will be joined by spectators who believe it carries deeper meaning and powers.


Hoping for a "ring of fire" to ascend over the ocean, they will call for the solar circle to deliver them from evil and illuminate the future.

 

[grippedchimp]

Oh yes, it'll be spectacular sight. Mind you, there's a chance that a thunderstorm will overlap it (as mentioned in a weather forecast) so people might watch a tree or a person getting disintergrated by a lightning bolt instead... which is nice...

 

[His Divine Shadow]

Such a bundle of joy Chimp.😀 I remember seeing one of these a while back and they are very cool. If you're in the area, don't hesitate to check it out!!!

 

[grippedchimp]

Oh wait, it's been done already. Oops! 😱 I saw that the eclipse was eclipsed *narf* by the clouds in the morning. Bummer for the Scots. Mind you, Norway got a really good view...

 

[His Divine Shadow]

I guess the Lepracauns weren't spreading any good luck that day. (Or is that Ireland?)

 

[BigJim]

Problem with solar eclipses, is that only a total eclipse viewed from smack-bang under the path of totality is really spectacular. Even a couple per cent of the sun's rim peeking out from behind a cloud ruins the effect; although it's still a nice spectacle.

The summer 1999 one viewable from Cornwall was one such, but the good ol' British weather fucked it up once again. Clouds were on ten tenth's that day. Still went toally dark in quadruple quick time though. Eerie as hell so I'm told.

As astronomy is a major hobby of mine, I've always planned on going eclipse hunting one of these days. If you're willing to travel across the world to see them, you could see a 100% total eclipse every 2 years or so.

 

[Limeoutsider]

We were suppost to have an eclipse here a couple weeks ago, but there was too much cloud cover to see it