On Friday, people in the Arctic’s Faroe Islands and Svalbard witnessed the special celestial event known as a total solar eclipse, in which the moon completely blocked out the sun for a few hours in the middle of the day. Large parts of Europe, northern Africa and northern Asia also enjoyed a partial eclipse, providing amazing photo opps for the ISS, a statue in Vienna and, of course, Earth. The rest of us had to carry on living vicariously via the internet.
Total solar eclipses while not common, are a rare given occurrence for any specific point on Earth. So when will New York finally get its turn? Our last total eclipse was in 1925. The next one won’t happen until May 1, 2079. That might seem like a time to wait, but it’s worth keeping in mind that 154 years isn’t too bad — on average, cities have to wait about 400 years.
(Photo: Alan Jamieson)
