Annular solar eclipse of June 10, 2021
On June 10, 2021, an annular solar eclipse begins at sunrise in southern Ontario, Canada. The Moon’s antumbral shadow touches down on the northern section of Lake Superior and traverses three countries; Canada, Greenland, and Russia. Notably, the path of this annular solar eclipse touches the North Pole, followed by a total solar eclipse on December 4, 2021 over Antarctica, so this is the first of two polar solar eclipses of 2021.
From beginning of eclipse to annular solar eclipse is about 1 hour 15 minutes. The duration of the annular solar eclipse ranges from seconds to over 4 minutes. From end of annularity to end of eclipse is about 1 hour, 15 minutes.
During an annular solar eclipse, the apparent size of the Moon’s disk is slightly smaller than the apparent size of the Sun’s disk. Therefore only the outer edge of the Sun remains visible and the Sun appears as a brilliant ring if you are inside the path of annular solar eclipse. This is an otherworldly sight often called a “ring of fire”, but you must use solar viewing glasses or other approved filters to view the eclipse.
Find safe ISO-approved eclipse glasses and viewers at greatamericaneclipse.com/eclipse-viewing. For instructions on how to safely view any solar eclipse, the essential and authoritative reference is eclipse.aas.org/eye-safety
Observing the annular solar eclipse will be challenging in southern Ontario due to several factors; a sparse road network and few lodging options, thick forests blocking most views of the eclipse at sunrise, mediocre weather prospects at sunrise in June, and COVID travel restrictions. However, the partial solar eclipse will be seen by many millions of people in Eastern United States and Canada, Europe, and Russia. In North America, the most ideally situated metropolitan areas to view the eclipse at sunrise are Toronto, Philadelphia, and New York.
Click on any map to enlarge. These maps can be freely used on social, broadcast, or print media with a credit to “Michael Zeiler, GreatAmericanEclipse.com”
The annular solar eclipse begins at sunrise over southern Ontario and ends at sunset in far-eastern Russia. The times of greatest eclipse (in Coordinated Universal Time) and the degree of maximum eclipse obscuration by percent.
While relatively few will see the perfect annulus in southern Ontario, many will enjoy a dramatic view of a deep partial eclipse at sunrise. At the right location, you may see horns of the Sun rising above the water at sunrise! Good places to see this phenomena are around Thunder Bay, Sault Ste Marie, Toronto, Philadelphia, New York City, and Atlantic City. Other places will see the rising Sun appear as a shark’s fin, such as Ottawa, Montreal, and Boston.
This will be an extremely photogenic opportunity and the best viewing locations will be on an east facing shore of the Atlantic ocean or lake. A tall building with a clear horizon will also be a good viewing location. Again, be sure to have safe eclipse glasses and viewers!
This map shows simulated views of the partial eclipse at sunrise. To get this view, you’ll need approved solar viewers. In general, you will get the most dramatic views of the rising eclipse along the middle curve of the three curves in this map.
Along the Atlantic coast, the very best view of a deep partial solar eclipse will be from the beaches of New Jersey. Tall buildings in New York City with unobstructed views in the direction of the rising sun will also have a great view. The beach communities of Long Island will also have a good view but make sure you have a good view in the azimuth direction of 59 degrees clockwise from true North. Get up early because sunrise in this area will be about 5:30 a.m.!
After the eclipse on June 10th, we will enjoy some spectacular photographs of iconic landmarks such as the Statue of Liberty framed next to the rising eclipse. This is a prime opportunity for photographers.
This is the prime area to view the rising deep partial eclipse at sunrise on the Atlantic coast. Obscuration is the percent area of the Sun occulted by the Moon.
While it will be challenging, southern Ontario just above Thunder Bay is the area to see a holy grail of eclipse chasers — a perfect annular eclipse at sunrise! This sight is much sought after because of the other-worldly atmospheric distortions of the eclipsed sun appearing as a ring. For example of this spectacular sight, see this video of the 2013 sunrise annular solar eclipse from Australia, vimeo.com/66223828, captured by Geoff Sims and Colin Legg. The best chances for seeing this sight will be the coast of Lake Superior northeast of Thunder Bay, Ontario and the western shore of Lake Nipigon.
Another option that bypasses the challenges of terrain and weather will be to view the annular eclipse from the air. This eclipse flight at skyandtelescope.org/astronomy-travel/2021-annular-eclipse-flight/ is tailored to provide a great view of the annular solar eclipse just after sunrise.
The optimal locations for a sunrise annular eclipse are northeast of Thunder Bay, the west shore of Lake Nipigon, or the west shore of other lakes near the eclipse sunrise line.
The northern two-thirds of Europe will have a view of a partial solar eclipse. Iceland will have the deepest partial eclipse with an obscuration of about 60%. The UK, Ireland, and Scandinavia will have an eclipse obscuration of about 20% to 50%.
The times when the solar eclipse begins and ends, as well as the Sun altitude during eclipse, is summarized below. The times are given in Coordinated Universal Time (UTC). To convert to EDT, subtract 4 hours. To convert to ADT, subtract 3 hours. Inside the path of annular solar eclipse, the progress of the Sun’s antumbral shadow is shown every 4 four minutes.
This map is from our Atlas of Solar Eclipses, available at https://www.greatamericaneclipse.com/books/atlas-of-solar-eclipses-2020-to-2045
This map is from our Atlas of Solar Eclipses, available at https://www.greatamericaneclipse.com/books/atlas-of-solar-eclipses-2020-to-2045
This map is from our Atlas of Solar Eclipses, available at https://www.greatamericaneclipse.com/books/atlas-of-solar-eclipses-2020-to-2045
During the mid-morning of June 10th, these communities of Nunavut, Canada will have a fine view of the annular solar eclipse. The maximum duration of annularity is over three minutes.
The maximum duration of annular solar eclipse occurs over the northwest corner of Greenland. For the adventurous traveler, the town of Qaanaaq, Greenland will offer a long duration of 3 minutes and 32 seconds of annular eclipse.
The Moon’s antumbral shadow is shown below at 4 minute intervals.
After traversing Canada, Greenland, and the North Pole, the annular solar eclipse ends at sunset over far-eastern Siberia.
The Moon’s antumbral shadow is shown below at 4 minute intervals.
You can learn more about this eclipse at these recommended sources:
An excellent online eclipse map developed by Xavier Jubier is at xjubier.free.fr/en/site_pages/solar_eclipses/ASE_2021_GoogleMapFull.html . Xavier’s computations are incorporated into the maps on this page.
Detailed information and maps about this eclipse can be found at eclipsewise.com/solar/SEprime/2001-2100/SE2021Jun10Aprime.html operated by Fred Espenak, retired NASA astrophysicist. Fred provided the foundational predictions used in eclipse computations.
Weather outlook for this eclipse is provided at eclipsophile.com/ase-2021/ by meteorologist Jay Anderson.
The American Astronomical Society (AAS) eclipse page is at eclipse.aas.org/eclipse-america-2021
Local data about this eclipse is at eclipse2024.org/2021eclipse/2021-eclipse.html operated by Dan McGlaun.
