All of us get excited when there’s an eclipse approaching. This excitement is off the roof, if the eclipse is Annular or Total. 2021 was going to end with a Bang with the Total Eclipse occurring today. But there’s this problem of visibility.
The eclipse is visible only in Antarctica and a very tiny portion of the Partial phase will be visible at the Southern tip of continents on the southern hemisphere. But why is it so?
Alignment
The eclipse will be visible only on the continent because of the Alignment of the Moon and the Sun with an angle of 0.685 degrees, causing the eclipse to be almost a missed one.
Along with it, the Earth’s orientation, causing the South Pole to face the Sun, also contributes to this factor. Add to it, the extremely large distances between the celestial bodies and their relative sizes.
Better Luck Next Time!
All we can do now is admire the beauty of this alignment which led to the lower half of the partial region to be lessened by the Terminator and the fact, how such small angles make such large changes.
