That ring will be exceedingly narrow the moon's apparent diameter will be 99.4% as large as that of the sun, so the width of that ring of sunlight at its thinnest will measure no more than six-tenths of one percent of the sun. The ground track of the anti-umbra traces out a 'path of annularity' and observers who are within this narrow shadow track, which will average about 33 miles (53 km) in width, will see the dark silhouette of the moon, surrounded by a ring of bright sunlight. We can imagine a 'negative shadow' or anti-umbra, as the mirror image of the umbra, beginning at the tip of the umbral shadow and extending out to infinity. This map shows the region of visibility (in percent of sun coverage) for the 'ring of fire' annular solar eclipse of June 21, 2020. So the moon's dark umbral shadow will fall 1,500 miles (2,400 km) short of reaching the Earth’s surface. In such a case, an annular eclipse results. Then after a few seconds or minutes, totality ends and the great show is over.īut an annular eclipse, such as the one that will take place on Sunday, falls just short of providing such a celestial pageant, because the moon will be just a little too far from the Earth to completely cover the disk of the sun. The dark conical shadow of the moon (called the umbra), from where we can see a total eclipse, extends for 235,600 miles (379,100 kilometers) out into space.īut unfortunately, on Sunday, the moon's distance from Earth will be 237,100 miles (381,500 km) from Earth. Semidarkness settles over the landscape and a few of the brighter stars and planets may appear. The end result is a beautiful spectacle in which a beautiful halo of pearly white light - the solar corona - suddenly flashes into view.

If you see the 2020 annular solar eclipse, let us know! Send images and comments to to share your views.ĭuring a total eclipse of the sun, the entire disk of the sun is covered by the moon.

How to see the eclipse in minnesota