Thousands trooped to the Faroe Islands this week in the hopes of catching the solar eclipse. Sitting between Iceland and Scotland, it is the only one of two where the astronomical event will be visible.
Despite the difficulty of getting into the country, hotels and inns around the Faroe Islands have been booked for months, some even years before Mar. 20. What used to be a population of 48,000 swelled by at least 3,000 more, all eclipse enthusiasts. Even the tourism office in Torshavn, the capital of Faroe Islands, was surprised at the volume of people.
Aside from Faroe Islands, the only other place to offer a seat to the astronomical event is Svalbard, an archipelago over 500 miles north of the Norwegian mainland. The eclipse was set to last for 2 minutes and 47 seconds in the Faroe Islands while Svalbard will see the show several seconds shorter.
The Faroe Islands is a favorite among astronomers because it boasts of low light pollution, making it an ideal location for observing the northern lights. A number of constellations are also best seen on the islands, like Cassiopeia, Ursa Major and Ursa Minor.
The islands even has a legend about solar eclipses. It goes that four brothers who were constantly quarreling experienced an eclipse. They were so terrified of the darkness that they promised to love each other if the sun would come out again. The sun did come out and the brothers never fought again. The brothers' story is believed to be a solar eclipse over Faroe Islands in 1612.
In the United States, total solar eclipses have only been visible twice in the last 40 years: in 1979 and in 1991. Total solar eclipses also result in a diamond ring effect, a bright flash of light that heralds the beginning and end of the event.
Europe and parts of Africa and Asia were set to see partial views of the solar eclipse.
Aside from being a spectacle on its own, the solar eclipse is also remarkable because it is happening on the same day as the Spring equinox, just ahead by hours. The equinox signals the start of spring in the northern hemisphere and rarely occurs with solar eclipses. The last time that the two were observed on the same date was in 1662. A new Supermoon will also come out Friday.
After the solar eclipse, Faroe Islands is set to throw a major celebration.
