Environment
Rare solar eclipse set for May 21
May 07, 2012
A rare annular solar eclipse will occur on May 21 and be visible in Hong Kong if the weather permits, the Hong Kong Observatory said today.During an annular eclipse, as the moon passes between the earth and the sun, it covers all but a bright ring around the sun's circumference.
The Observatory’s Scientific Officer Woo Wang-chun said the last annular solar eclipse visible in Hong Kong took place in 1958 and there will be no more in the next three centuries.
The duration of annular totality will be three minutes 26 seconds, longer than the annular totality in 1958, which lasted only one minute 17 seconds, he said. It will be at its maximum at 6:08am.
The best places for viewing the entire process are Plover Cove Reservoir, Tai Au Mun in Sai Kung, and the middle of the Avenue of Stars in Tsim Sha Tsui, he added, since they have an unobstructed view near the horizon in the direction of east-northeast.
The observatory and Space Museum will organise a webcast of the event.
The museum’s curator Chan Ki-hung said the museum will set up telescopes and other astronomical instruments in the middle of the Avenue of Stars in Tsim Sha Tsui from 5.30am to 7.30am to allow people to safely view the event. Click here for tips on safely watching a solar eclipse.
The next solar eclipse observable in Hong Kong, a partial eclipse, will occur on March 9, 2016.
