On June 21 there will be an annular eclipse of the Sun.

A ring of fire will greet the arrival of summer 2020, but Italy will be affected only very marginally (photo: Getty Images) This year we will welcome summer with a ring of fire in the sky. On June 21, in fact, there will be an annular eclipse of the Sun, an event that occurs when the Moon - close to its maximum distance from Earth (apogee) - stands between us and our star, however leaving a glimpse of the perimeter. Entertainment guaranteed, at least for those who will be in Central Africa, Saudi Arabia, India, Pakistan, China, Pacific ocean. In Italy, however, weather permitting, we could see a partial solar eclipse from the regions of the Center-South.

From 3:45 UTC (5:45 in Italy) on June 21 the Moon will come between the Earth and the Sun, obscuring it. An eclipse, therefore, which however will allow us to glimpse the outer edges of our star, making a ring of fire appear in the sky. This is because our satellite will be close to its apogee, that is, the point of its orbit of maximum distance from Earth, appearing smaller than the solar disk from our observation point.

(image: NASA) The annular eclipse of 2020 will be visible only in a narrow belt that will cross central Africa, Asia (Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, northern India, China) and the Pacific Ocean, and at the peak the Moon will obscure 99.4% of the Sun.

Even those who find themselves hundreds of kilometers away from the whole line, however, will not remain completely fasting, being able to enjoy a partial solar eclipse.

Unfortunately our country will be affected only marginally: weather permitting you will only be able to appreciate something from the Central-South regions.

For more details on what will be possible to observe and when point by point you can consult here the interactive map of NASA.

21 June Solar Eclips is

The shadow moving across the image below indicates where at least a partial eclipse will be visible and the moving dot marks the line of totality – the path along which the annular eclipse will last the longest. pic.twitter.com/JpOPEiBR8Z

—. (@DearRanjeeta) June 17, 2020



For lovers the most unfortunate, and the curious, however, that there is always live streaming as that of the Virtual Telescope Project .

The previous annular eclipse of the Sun occurred at the end of 2019, while the next ring of fire will be visible in 2021, from the Arctic .

(photo: annular eclipse of the sun of December 25, 2019; Colleen Pinski/apod.nasa.gov)