The first eclipse of the year will be an annular solar eclipse, scheduled to begin on February 17 at 13:56 and end at 18:27 citing the Shamakhi Astrophysical Observatory.
The peak of the eclipse will occur at 16:12. This celestial event will be most prominently visible over Antarctica. However, visibility will vary depending on geographic location. Observers in parts of Argentina, Madagascar, South Africa, Tanzania, Zimbabwe, Namibia, Seychelles, Mozambique, Chile, Botswana, Malawi, Zambia, South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, Mauritius, Réunion, and Lesotho, among others, will also be able to witness the phenomenon.
Eclipses occur when the Earth or the Moon moves in front of the Sun, partially or completely blocking its light. The orbital planes of the Earth and the Moon differ by just 5°09′, making precise alignment relatively rare.
An eclipse happens when the new Moon or full Moon aligns with the orbital nodes. For a solar eclipse to take place, the apparent angular sizes of the Moon and the Sun must also be nearly the same when viewed from Earth.
During a solar eclipse, the Moon passes between the Earth and the Sun, blocking sunlight from reaching certain areas of the planet. The Moon’s shadow then falls on specific regions, allowing observers within that path to experience the event.
Solar eclipses occur only during the new Moon phase and are classified as total, annular, partial, or hybrid, depending on the relative alignment of the Sun, Moon, and Earth.
A total solar eclipse can last up to about seven minutes at most, as the area covered by the Moon’s darkest shadow (the umbra) is relatively small. Moving away from the umbra into the penumbra reduces the portion of the Sun’s disk covered, resulting in a partial eclipse. The extent of coverage during a partial eclipse depends largely on the observer’s location.
This particular eclipse will not be visible from Azerbaijan. The next major eclipse event will be a total lunar eclipse on March 3.
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