The Solar Eclipse of December 4, 2021

For those that are interested in astronomy, the next solar eclipse (at the time of the article) will be on December 4, 2021. This eclipse is special for many reasons. The first reason is that it is a total solar eclipse, arguably one of the coolest things you can experience (though I have not experienced one yet). A total solar eclipse requires that the moon is relatively close to us, making the angular size of the moon larger than the sun. If this doesn’t happen, then we get an annular solar eclipse instead. The second reason is that this eclipse will only be visible in Antarctica (sadly, we won’t be able to see this).

Third, due to the location of the eclipse, the path of the eclipse goes from East to West. Most eclipses move from West to East because the speed of the moon orbiting the Earth is faster than the speed of the Earth’s rotation. However, since the eclipse is so close to the South pole, the path will actually go “below” the South pole, thus going from East to West. Additionally, since the eclipse is in the Antarctic circle, it will be visible at very early times of the day. Eclipses usually don’t happen at 3:00 AM, but this eclipse will be visible at 3:00 AM local time in some locations in Antarctica.

Finally, the sun is in a very special constellation. Although the astrologists are talking about Sagittarius, the sun will really be in the constellation of Ophiuchus. Ophiuchus is the 13th constellation that crosses the ecliptic, and astrologists don’t add it to the zodiac because it would make 13 constellations in the zodiac, and they don’t want that because 13 is one more than 12, which is divisible by 1, 2, 3, and 4 (but they like the number 7, which is one more than 6, which is divisible by 1, 2, and 3). Also, they think that the positions of the stars from the past somehow influence the way that you are born and how your romantic relationships work. Unfortunately, the Earth’s axis has moved slightly, and now the star signs are inaccurate.

For any eclipse hunters in the USA, the next total solar eclipse visible in the United States will be on April 8, 2022. Just remember that the sun has an apparent magnitude of about -26.7, so if you are looking at an eclipse, make sure to use eclipse glasses.