Is The North Pole On Fire? Watch Last Week’s Eclipse Do Something No Other Will This Century

Jamie Carter
Senior Contributor

FORBES
Science
I inspire people to go stargazing, watch the Moon, enjoy the night sky

Jun 12, 2021


The Moon's shadow from yesterday's eclipse is easily visible on top of the Earth in this image from ... [+] NASA

If you glimpsed the solar eclipse last week you were witness to something really special—an eclipse that made the

In these incredible images from NASA’s EPIC satellite—taken during the solar eclipse on Thursday, June 10, 2021—it’s possible to see the Moon’s shadow as it passes across the Earth’s surface.

Although most of the world saw a partial solar eclipse, a narrow stretch of the surface experienced a “ring of fire” annular solar eclipse during which a dark shadow crossed from Canada to Russia.

This article’s main image, above, shows the shadow over the North Pole.

It was the only solar eclipse of the 21st century to do such a thing.

It was also the only one whose shadow across Earth first traveled north across Canada and Greenland, then south into Siberia.

Here’s another shot of Earth, taken minutes earlier by EPIC, of the start of the annular solar eclipse:



The Moon's shadow from yesterday's eclipse is visible on top left of the Earth in this image from ... [+] NASA

And another as the shadow moved into Siberia, eastern Russia:


The Moon's shadow from yesterday's eclipse is visible on top right of the Earth in this image from ... [+] NASA

The next solar eclipse (in the next “eclipse season”) is a total solar eclipse in Antarctica, whose shadow will get very close to—but not actually pass across—the South Pole.

That will occur on December 4, 2021

It will be see low in the sky above the floating icebergs of the Wedell Sea on December 4, 2021, with over 20 cruise ships planning to be in the area.

North America will see its next total solar eclipse in 2024.

Wishing you clear skies and wide eyes.