Annular eclipse — Arctic Canada & Greenland (2021)
On 10 June 2021 an annular eclipse ran from Ontario in Canada over northern Greenland and the North Pole to Siberia. At Qaanaaq in Greenland the ring of fire formed on a summer Sun that never sets.
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The story
The annular eclipse of 10 June 2021 seemed to choose places where almost nobody lives. The Moon's shadow started in northern Ontario, Canada, crossed Hudson Bay and Nunavut, and moved over north-western Greenland. It then crossed the Arctic Ocean, passed right over the North Pole, and ended in north-eastern Siberia in Russia. Most of the land beneath the shadow was ice and tundra.
Qaanaaq, a small town in north-western Greenland, was one of the few settlements inside the path. In June the Arctic has the midnight sun, when the Sun does not set at all. So the Sun hung low above the horizon, and at about 8:33 in the morning local time the Moon passed in front of it and formed a ring that lasted 3 minutes 40 seconds.
A total eclipse would have brought darkness like night, but in this annular eclipse the sky stayed bright. What most people remember instead is the view from outside the path. In eastern Canada and the north-eastern United States the Sun rose already partly covered. In New York about 73% of the Sun was hidden at sunrise, leaving a crescent whose two tips looked like horns.
The ring lasted longest, 3 minutes 51 seconds, over Nares Strait, the narrow sea between Greenland and Canada. Even at the North Pole the ring was visible for 2 minutes 36 seconds. The orbit view reproduces the Moon's shadow passing over the top of the world, and the sky view reproduces New York's partly covered sunrise.
Viewing guide — where, when, how
The ring could be seen along a band from northern Ontario across Hudson Bay and Nunavut, north-western Greenland and the North Pole to north-eastern Siberia. A partial eclipse was seen at sunrise in Canada and the north-eastern United States, and also in Greenland, Iceland, Britain, Ireland, northern Europe and most of Russia. Northern parts of Asia, such as north-eastern China and Yakutsk in Russia, saw a partial eclipse too, but the Southern Hemisphere and southern Asia saw none of it.
Watching an eclipse with a low Sun requires a clear view of the horizon. For a partial eclipse at sunrise, it helps to know in advance exactly where the Sun will come up. Even if a low Sun looks red and less dazzling, a filter is still necessary, because enough light reaches the eye to cause harm despite appearances. Right after sunrise the Sun climbs quickly, so it is best to be ready in advance.
The sky view follows the never-setting Sun over Qaanaaq and reproduces the moment the ring forms. Changing the viewing place to New York or Toronto calculates in which direction and at what time the partly covered Sun appeared over the horizon. Switching to London shows a midday partial eclipse with only a small part of the Sun covered. This makes it possible to compare how differently the same eclipse looked around the world.
See this for yourself — open that sky at that moment · replay the moment in the orbit view
Why this eclipse is special
A polar eclipse challenges the idea that an eclipse looks the same everywhere. In midnight-sun regions the Sun stays low all day, so the ring hangs close to the horizon. At the same moment in New York, the Sun appeared already covered as it rose. The same eclipse can look completely different depending on how far north or south you live.
The partial eclipse at sunrise was a special sight. When the Sun is near the horizon its light passes through a thick layer of air, so it looks red and slightly squashed from top to bottom. With the Moon covering part of it, a red, horn-shaped Sun rose above the horizon, and many photographs of it were taken. This sight lasted only for the few minutes of sunrise, so timing was important.
This eclipse pairs with the total eclipse over Antarctica on 4 December of the same year. In one year there was an annular eclipse near the North Pole and a total eclipse near the South Pole. Neither crossed many inhabited places, so for most people 2021 was a year of partial eclipses only.
Background and earlier eclipses
This eclipse is the 23rd member of Saros 147. The previous member of the series was the annular eclipse of 31 May 2003, which crossed Iceland and northern Scotland. The next is the annular eclipse of 21 June 2039, which will cross Alaska, Canada and Greenland. This series keeps returning to places near the North Pole.
Eclipses over the Arctic are not especially rare, but a town inside the path is. Qaanaaq is one of the northernmost settlements in Greenland. It was built in the 1950s by people who had to leave their earlier home when the American Thule Air Base was set up nearby. Thanks to this eclipse, the small town briefly appeared on eclipse chasers' maps.
The total eclipse of 4 December the same year ran entirely over Antarctica and the Southern Ocean. So both of 2021's central eclipses happened in polar regions. Because almost nobody lives where the centre of the shadow passed, the only people who saw them directly were researchers and a small number of travellers. Everyone else met these eclipses as partial eclipses or through live broadcasts.
FAQ
What did the ring look like from Qaanaaq?
With the never-setting summer Sun low above the horizon, the ring appeared at about 8:33 in the morning and lasted 3 minutes 40 seconds.
What was the horned sunrise in New York?
The Sun rose with about 73% already covered, so the two tips of the remaining crescent looked like horns.
How long did the ring last at most?
3 minutes 51 seconds over Nares Strait between Greenland and Canada. Over the North Pole it lasted 2 minutes 36 seconds.
Was it visible from the Southern Hemisphere?
No. The path ran across the far north, and the Southern Hemisphere did not see even a partial eclipse.
Related
- The 2023 annular over the US West
- The 2024 North American total eclipse
- The 2020 solstice annular
- The Sun — object index
- The Moon — object index
Times and figures are approximate — verify with official sources when planning travel. Simulation uses J2000 mean elements.