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The partial solar eclipse seen in Estonia today covered 77.7 percent of Sun’s diameter and 73 percent of its area. A comparable eclipse for Estonia will happen on October 25th 2022.
Estonia has seven years to see eclipse like today
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Today’s eclipse begun at 11 am and ended at 1:17 pm, peaking at 12:09 pm.
The one on October 25th 2022 will be comparable but smaller by a couple percent.
A solar eclipse is indeed also in store for Estonia on August 11th 2018, but it will be significantly smaller than today’s.
As admitted to Postimees by Tartu Observatory head Janet Laidla, the people alive in Estonia today will never see a full solar eclipse. A full one, with the Moon covering up 100 percent of Sun’s area, is coming for Estonia on October 16th 2126. The last such occasion for Estonia was On July 22nd 1990, viewable in North-East Estonia.
The next circle-shaped eclipses seen in Estonia will be on June 21st 2039 and June 11th 2048.
The last partial solar eclipse seen in Estonia presented itself on January 4th 2011 with the Moon covering 80 percent of the Sun. The dates before that: August 1st 2008 (45 percent), and March 29th 2006 (48.8 percent).
A solar eclipse happens as the Moon passes between Earth and Sun, blocking out the latter’s light partially or fully. An eclipse may be full, partial or circle-shaped. With the full eclipse, the Moon blocks out the Sun in its entirety. With a partial eclipse, the Moon does not pass exactly in front of the Sun, the latter having a piece bit off as if. In the circular case, the Moon indeed moves to be directly before the Sun, but will be seen as smaller than the Sun and does not cover all of it.
To watch the eclipse, Estonia had designated several public spots. As supervised and explained by specialists, the event was enjoyed at Tartu Observatory on Toomemäe, Tartu Ahhaa Centre rooftop, and on the roof of National Library in Tallinn.
Today’s eclipse was best viewable 1,500 kilometres North-East from Estonia, in the Northern part of the Atlantic Ocean. A full eclipse was seen on Faroe Islands and Spitsbergen where the Moon covered all of the Sun for nearly three minutes.
The eclipse in Estonia was covered live by Postimees.ee.