A shimmering ring of light flashed into view yesterday in parts of the eastern hemisphere as the moon drifted across the face of the sun in a rare eclipse on the longest day of the year.
The path of the eclipse spanned East and South Asia, the Middle East and Africa. Most locations saw only a partial eclipse, with just a handful witnessing the “ring of fire.”
Unlike in a total eclipse, the moon in an annular, or ring-like, eclipse is unable to completely cover the sun, leaving a thin halo of light at its maximum phase.
Photo: CNA
Such an eclipse happens when the moon is farther away in its elliptical orbit around the Earth, appearing smaller as a result.
Hundreds of skywatchers gathered in an open space in Chiayi City, one of the locations in Asia where the annular eclipse was visible.
“I’m more than 50 years old, so it’s great that I could see this,” said a retiree surnamed Chuang (莊), 56, who traveled to Chiayi from Taichung. “I’m beyond excited.”
In Chiayi, the eclipse started at 2:49pm and ended at 5:25pm, with the complete “ring of fire” taking place for less than a minute at 4:14pm, when 99 percent of the sun’s surface was blocked.
Many spectators elsewhere in Taiwan braced scorching temperatures to watch the rare annular solar eclipse by flocking to museums, parks and schools for guided solar eclipse watching or simply observed the event from street corners, using protective eye gear.
The momentum was especially high in Tainan and Kaohsiung, and Yunlin, Chiayi, Nantou, Hualien and Taitung counties, as well as the outlying islands of Penghu and Kinmen, as people there could witness the entire process of the eclipse.
In Taipei, where only a partial solar eclipse was visible, about 10,000 people were estimated to have visited the Taipei Astronomical Museum, museum officials said.
Meanwhile, tens of thousands of Internet users watched the eclipse streamed online by various government and academic outlets.
An annular solar eclipse covering such a large percentage of the sun will not be visible in Taiwan until June 28, 2215, the museum said.
In Chinese and Japanese lore, it is believed that a dog in the sky named Tiangou (天狗) eats the sun, causing the eclipse.
Super Typhoon Kong-rey is the largest cyclone to impact Taiwan in 27 years, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said today. Kong-rey’s radius of maximum wind (RMW) — the distance between the center of a cyclone and its band of strongest winds — has expanded to 320km, CWA forecaster Chang Chun-yao (張竣堯) said. The last time a typhoon of comparable strength with an RMW larger than 300km made landfall in Taiwan was Typhoon Herb in 1996, he said. Herb made landfall between Keelung and Suao (蘇澳) in Yilan County with an RMW of 350km, Chang said. The weather station in Alishan (阿里山) recorded 1.09m of
STORM’S PATH: Kong-Rey could be the first typhoon to make landfall in Taiwan in November since Gilda in 1967. Taitung-Green Island ferry services have been halted Tropical Storm Kong-rey is forecast to strengthen into a typhoon early today and could make landfall in Taitung County between late Thursday and early Friday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. As of 2pm yesterday, Kong-Rey was 1,030km east-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), the nation’s southernmost point, and was moving west at 7kph. The tropical storm was packing maximum sustained winds of 101kph, with gusts of up to 126 kph, CWA data showed. After landing in Taitung, the eye of the storm is forecast to move into the Taiwan Strait through central Taiwan on Friday morning, the agency said. With the storm moving
NO WORK, CLASS: President William Lai urged people in the eastern, southern and northern parts of the country to be on alert, with Typhoon Kong-rey approaching Typhoon Kong-rey is expected to make landfall on Taiwan’s east coast today, with work and classes canceled nationwide. Packing gusts of nearly 300kph, the storm yesterday intensified into a typhoon and was expected to gain even more strength before hitting Taitung County, the US Navy’s Joint Typhoon Warning Center said. The storm is forecast to cross Taiwan’s south, enter the Taiwan Strait and head toward China, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The CWA labeled the storm a “strong typhoon,” the most powerful on its scale. Up to 1.2m of rainfall was expected in mountainous areas of eastern Taiwan and destructive winds are likely
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday at 5:30pm issued a sea warning for Typhoon Kong-rey as the storm drew closer to the east coast. As of 8pm yesterday, the storm was 670km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻) and traveling northwest at 12kph to 16kph. It was packing maximum sustained winds of 162kph and gusts of up to 198kph, the CWA said. A land warning might be issued this morning for the storm, which is expected to have the strongest impact on Taiwan from tonight to early Friday morning, the agency said. Orchid Island (Lanyu, 蘭嶼) and Green Island (綠島) canceled classes and work
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