Total Solar Eclipse on March 20, 2015
I don’t know if you already know about this natural phenomenon that is happening today. I heard over the news on the radio and television yesterday that today a total solar eclipse will occur. In fact, it is already going on in some parts of the planet.
I haven’t really witness this natural phenomenon during the past decade. When I was young, I remember partly witnessing it. We used a film negative and sunglasses in looking at it. I will see if I can witness this happening today.
What is a Total Solar Eclipse?
A solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes between Earth and the Sun, thereby totally or partly obscuring the image of the Sun for a viewer on Earth. A total solar eclipse occurs when the Moon’s apparent diameter is larger than the Sun’s, blocking all direct sunlight, turning day into darkness. Totality occurs in a narrow path across Earth’s surface, with the partial solar eclipse visible over a surrounding region thousands of kilometres wide.
Impact
The European Union has about 90 Gigawatts of solar power and production may temporarily decrease by up to 34 GW of that if the sky is clear. This is the first time that an eclipse has a significant impact on the power system, and the electricity sector is taking measures to mitigate the impact. The power gradient (change in power) may be −400 MW/minute and +700 MW/minute. Places in Netherlands, Belgium and Denmark may be 80% obscured. Temperature may decrease by 3°C, and wind power may decrease as winds are reduced by 0.7 m/s.
The maximum phase of over 100% will occur over the Arctic Ocean with 102% over Barentsburg.
Viewing
The solar eclipse will begin from 08:30GMT onwards commencing in the south west and moving towards the north east. It will be most visible from the North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, Greenland, Iceland, Ireland, United Kingdom, Faroe Islands, northern Norway and Murmansk Oblast. The shadow will begin its pass off the south coast of Greenland. The shadow will then move its way to the northeast, passing between Iceland and the United Kingdom before moving over the the Faroe Islands and the northernmost islands of Norway. The shadow of the eclipse will be visible in varying degrees all over continental Europe. South eastern locations will only experience a partial solar eclipse. For example, London will experience an 85% partial solar eclipse compared to north of the Faroe Islands in the Norweigian Sea which will see a complete solar eclipse.
Source: wikipedia
