The second solar eclipse of the year began on August 12.

Axar.az reports that the Astrophysics Department of Baku State University said that this is a total solar eclipse.

The eclipse is a repeat of the total solar eclipse that occurred on August 1, 2008. A similar eclipse will next occur on August 23, 2044.

“The partial eclipse began at 19:34 and will end at 23:57. The eclipse will last approximately 4 hours and 24 minutes. The maximum phase of the eclipse will occur at 21:46. The central eclipse will begin at 20:57 and end at 22:30.

“During a total solar eclipse, the Moon’s shadow cone intersects the Earth’s surface, as the Moon is sufficiently close to Earth to completely cover the Sun. The average length of the Moon’s shadow is 373,320 kilometers. Today, however, the distance between the Earth and Moon is 359,445 kilometers. As a result, the Moon’s apparent diameter is 1.0386 times larger than the apparent diameter of the Sun’s disk.”

The statement noted that the eclipse can be observed in northern North America, northwestern Africa and Europe. The total eclipse will be visible only in Greenland, Iceland, Portugal, Spain and Russia’s Krasnoyarsk. The total phase of the eclipse will last a maximum of 2 minutes and 18 seconds.

“The eclipse will not be visible from the territory of Azerbaijan,” the statement stressed.