THE 2020 SUMMER SOLSTICE SOLAR ECLIPSE
A total eclipse of the Sun on the longest day of the year? What effects could this have for the Earth and its inhabitants? We had one on the same degree, only 11 arc minutes off, 19 years ago. But the 2001 one was "total total" whereas this years' will be "annular total". The physical difference is that with the total eclipse, the Moon completely cover the Sun whereas with an annular eclipse, the Moon is at apogee (or close to it), at its furthest from the Earth, so that it appears smaller, with the consequence that the outer ring of the Sun remains visible throughout the duration of the eclipse. Total, annular and hybrid (a combination of total and annular) eclipses are stronger than partial ones. But is there…