On March 20, people residing in the Northern part of Europe will witness a sight that they will never forget. Three natural phenomena, “a super moon, a solar eclipse and obviously the spring equinox” will make this Friday a fascinating one. This vernal equinox occurs every year on March 20, resulting in the return of warmer days in the Northern Hemisphere. This marks the official astronomical end of winter.
The spring equinox of 2015 is special because of the other two celestial events, one being the solar eclipse and the other is the super moon. However, the solar eclipse is only visible in a few areas. The total eclipse will only be visible from the areas of the northern Atlantic Ocean. Thus, a person located in the farther north of Western Europe will have better visibility.
The people of Northern Scotland can expect nearly 95 percent of the sun to be blocked during the eclipse, while those living in the far south in Rome, Italy, can expect more than around 50 percent of the sun to be blocked. 70 percent of the sun will be blocked in North Holland due to the eclipse.
The super moon is either a new moon or a full moon that occurs during the moon's closest approach to Earth on its elliptical orbit. The proximity results in the appearance of around 15 percent larger lunar disk, during a full super moon as seen from the planet.
Previously, on Sunday night eastern France and other parts of Europe saw a huge meteorite light up the sky. The meteorite was also visible from some parts of Austria and Switzerland. Also, the celestial display of the Northern Lights, also known as the Aurora Borealis has been catching the attention of the people in the Northern Hemisphere. Again, on Tuesday a CME strike resulted in the strongest geomagnetic storm of the current solar cycle. It has been a remarkable week for sky watchers and there is still more to come.
