A much-anticipated annular solar eclipse is going to light up the atmosphere on October 2. The phenomenon is going to start at 9:13 pm IST on October 2 and will continue till 3:17 pm IST the next day. This time, the Moon is going to be smaller in comparison to the Sun, hence making it a great sight of “ring of fire” whose center is going to be darkened but surrounded by a halo of sunlight.
How fast will the Moon’s shadow move across Earth during the eclipse? The speed at which it will depend on location but will vary dramatically. Space.com writes: “In some areas, it will travel faster than 10 million kmph, while in others, it will slow to about 2,057 kmph, roughly the speed of a fighter jet.”
The shadow of the Moon will thus be tracing a path in northwest to southeast direction. Because of the Earth’s curvature and variances in distance and speed in its movement, the shadow will move so differentially among various regions that its speed will be so differential. The eclipse will start with a partly eclipsed sunrise, peak around midday, and end with an eclipsed sunset.
First, it will cross Earth’s southern side south of Hawaii in the Pacific Ocean. Its speed reaches approximately 8.55 million kmph. By the time the shadow leaves Earth on the south side of South Georgia Island, its speed will be about 10 million kmph. The rapid speeds are due to the shadow as it enters and exits Earth, so those high speeds don’t matter quite so much.
The shadow will slow down close to the horizon, traveling at a speed of 8,258 kmph during sunrise and 14,312 kmph during sunset. The slowest speed, 2,057 kmph, will be witnessed in the Pacific Ocean northwest of Easter Island when the “ring of fire” will last for 7 minutes and 25 seconds. The Moon’s shadow is nearly perpendicular to Earth at the local midday and thus makes the eclipse the longest.
