By Albert Oppong-Ansah
Accra, April 9, GNA – Dr. Naomi Asabre Frimpong, a Research Scientist at the Ghana Space Science and Technology Institute of the Ghana Atomic Energy, says the country and the rest of Africa did not witness the total solar eclipse due to its geographical location.
A solar eclipse occurs when the moon passes between the Earth and the Sun at just the right distance and time to obscure the Sun’s image for viewers on Earth.
Dr. Asabre Frimpong told the Ghana News Agency that, “If your geographical location aligns with the path of the moon during its eclipse of the Sun, you will be fortunate to witness it, akin to those in the US and Canada.”
She said scientists used formulas and models to predict areas likely to witness eclipses and that interested individuals could find future eclipse dates on websites like https://www.timeanddate.com/eclipse/list.html.
Reflecting on a past eclipse, Dr. Asabre Frimpong mentioned that a total eclipse was observed in Ghana and parts of West and North Africa, Turkey, and Central Asia on March 29, 2006.
This event lasted approximately 247 seconds, covering an area of about 114 miles.
During the occurrence, Mr John Agyekum Kufuor was the President of Ghana.
Notably, he was only nine years old when a total eclipse took place in 1947.
The total eclipse made an initial appearance along Mexico’s Pacific Coast at approximately 11:07 a.m. Pacific Daylight Time, before journeying across the United States, spanning from Texas to Maine, and eventually extending into Canada.
NASA estimated that around 31.6 million individuals resided within the path of totality, where the moon completely obscured the Sun.
The path was anticipated to be between 108 and 122 miles wide. Additionally, an additional 150 million people live within 200 miles of the path of the totality.
Millions of people in North America were within the path of totality, experiencing the awe-inspiring moment when the moon completely obscured the Sun.
GNA