Amazement, fear, and amazement inspired the solar eclipses among the ancient Mayan settlers, and even today these astronomical phenomena are viewed with some apprehension by some people. But it is its beauty that most permeate today’s society and the desire to watch that dance among the stars where “the moon eats the sun”.
This is what happens during solar eclipses like those that will take place on October 14th and will be visible in the Yucatan. It’s an annular eclipse, meaning it will be almost complete, with just a small swath of the sun uncovered by the moon.
In communities like Maxcan, Tekax, and Oxkutzcab, it will be possible to see 95%, the maximum that will be visible in the state, while in Mérida it will be 92%.
Researcher and astronomer Eddie Salazar Gamboa shares details of the next solar eclipse, which is gaining more and more interest as its date approaches.
“It’s an event that inspires admiration but also fear and anxiety, at least that’s how it was in ancient civilizations and even some modern ones.”
The Mayans were very interested in astronomy and mathematics, and the researcher is inclined to believe that in the event of solar eclipses, they followed them out of fear and out of respect, as this posed a danger to the community. “The sun might be swallowed up by the moon during eclipses,” and for this reason, the Mayans represented this with a symbol of death, in which the sun and moon are seen embraced by death. They also had a symbol in which a huge snake swallowed the sun and moon.
The fear arose because they thought that if the sun were destroyed, life would end.
Solar eclipse is, an admired phenomenon
Salazar Gamboa points out that nowadays they inspire more admiration than fear as they are extraordinarily beautiful and attractive.
He explains that total solar eclipses are extraordinary and dwarf those who watch them because, during the eclipse, when everything gets darker in those minutes of totality, the birds go to their nests, and the temperature drops.
During annular eclipses like the one seen on October 14, only a ring of light can be seen around the sun, called the ring of fire.
This eclipse will be visible in Yucatan, Campeche, and Quintana Roo.
Eclipses occur when a solid object is placed between an illuminated object. In this case, the sun shines and the moon stands between the sun and the earth. The annular solar eclipse will be visible in a strip 187.4 kilometers wide.
How long will the eclipse last and where can it be seen?
In the case of Mérida, the best time to observe the eclipse is 11:24 a.m. (the central moment of the phenomenon begins at 11:21 a.m. and ends at 11:26 a.m., i.e. it lasts only 5 minutes). and 17.8 seconds), in which it will be visible at 92%, which will be the maximum for Mérida.
For the state in general, the central part will take place at 23:59. Maxcanú, Tekax, and Oxkutzcab will achieve an overall rate of 95%.
Eddie Salazar points out that whenever there is an eclipse, there is a new moon nearby, and this time the new moon will be on October 14 at 11:54 a.m.
The eclipse can be observed at an altitude of 67 degrees in the southwest. It will be high, almost at the zenith.
Overall, the phenomenon will last for several hours as it begins at 9:43 a.m. local time and ends at 1:10 p.m. local time.
Observation Center
The Technological Institute of Mérida is one of the places in Mérida to observe the annular solar eclipse.
On this day, ten telescopes with special solar filters are available to observe the phenomenon. About 600 people are expected to be catered for as the use of the telescopes is limited to just five minutes per person.
There will also be around 100 special lenses for observing the phenomenon, which will be loaned to each participant for 20 minutes.
