On the morning of March 29, 2006, as Nigerians began their daily activities in search of their daily bread, an unusual darkness enveloped the bright morning sun. It came without warning, with
On the morning of March 29, 2006, as Nigerians began their daily activities in search of their daily bread, an unusual darkness enveloped the bright morning sun. It came without warning, without wind and without rain.
In the dull darkness of Lagos and Abuja, people stopped to wonder what was happening to the world, oblivious of the fact that in the north, in places like Katsina, Kazaure and Gusau, the darkness was very total; economic activities were ground to a halt.
But even that wasn’t the worst. Shaki, a town in Oyo State, appeared to have been selected by the celestials to witness the full extent of its powers. The town also witnessed the temporary blessings that came with the darkness, as people who had got wind of the phenomenon trouped there to witness it in all its sunless glory.
This was the last time a total solar eclipse brightened up Nigeria with its dark splendour.
The next one is expected on Monday, March 20, 2034, exactly 28 years later. It is expected to begin at the same time the last one did (9 am) and last over the next three hours. But the darkest period would begin by 10:17 am, with the darkness making its way majestically across the country over the next 37 minutes, and not staying beyond 3 minutes at a given place.
Many states will witness the total solar eclipse in Nigeria, including the capital, Abuja, the commercial capital, Lagos, Kaduna, Anambra and Enugu. States like Cross River, Rivers, Akwa Ibom, and Kano would witness a partial eclipse.
In contrast, Zamfara and Sokoto would witness a partial, brighter eclipse.
The onset of an eclipse. Credit: Space.com5 partial solar eclipses before 2034Ahead of 2034, there will be five partial solar eclipses across Nigeria.
Note that there will be several lunar eclipses too, starting with the partial lunar eclipse in about two weeks’ time (August 28). There will also be one annular solar eclipse, a beautiful and rare phenomenon which happens when the Moon passes directly between the Earth and the Sun, but it sits too far away from the Earth to block the Sun completely.
But the focus of this post is on solar eclipses. The first partial solar eclipse on the road to 2034 will be on Monday,August 2, 2027. It will take place sometime between 9:11 am and 9:55 am. It is expected to be more visible in the northern states of Adamawa, Bauchi, Borno, Gombe, Jigawa, Katsina, Kano, Niger, Sokoto, Yobe and Zamfara. As much as 17.26% of the sun would be obscured in many of these states.
States like Rivers, Lagos, Delta, Bayelsa, Edo and Imo would hardly know it is happening, though, because it would be a lot less pronounced in those states, with obscuration as low as 1 per cent in a state like Rivers.
Lagos The next partial eclipse would be on Wednesday, January 26, 2028, and this one would be even less obvious than the last one, probably because it is expected to happen in the evening. Beginning at 5:04 pm and expected to end by 5:45 pm, states likely to see it more clearly include Sokoto, Zamfara, Yobe, Niger, Oyo, Kebbi, Katsina, Kano, Jigawa and Bauchi.
States like Bayelsa, Abia, Ebonyi, Enugu and Rivers won’t see a thing. In a state like Enugu, only 0.12% of the sun will be obscured. In states like Kebbi and Sokoto, obscuration could climb as much as 7%.
The next partial eclipse would be a more pronounced one and would take place on Saturday, June 1, 2030. Interestingly, this eclipse is expected to begin as early as 5:35 am which means many people, especially those living where the sun doesn’t rise early, won’t see it. But it is happening nonetheless and won’t end till about 6:23 am.
Northeastern states like Borno, Yobe, Adamawa, Taraba, Gombe and Bauchi will experience the darkness more than other states. In Borno, up to 20% of the sun could be obscured. States like Oyo, Osun, Ondo, Ekiti, Edo, Delta, Akwa Ibom, Abia and Anambra would not notice the eclipse, with obscuration as little as 0.10% in some of these places.
The next partial solar eclipse would be a lesser one and would also take place in 2030 (Monday, November 25). Just like the last one, it would also take place in the morning, but a little later, beginning at 6:02 am through 6:38 am. More southern states will witness this one, with Anambra, Abia, Akwa Ibom, Cross River, Ebonyi, Imo and Rivers witnessing it more.
Middle-belt states are not left out, though, with Taraba, Kogi, Benue and Adamawa all set to experience it. Up to 16% of the sun could be blocked in some southern states, while in a state like Lagos, the full harmattan sun will bear down with nothing in its way.
Solar eclipse on a Nigerian flag/GeminiThe last partial solar eclipse before the total eclipse of 2034 will take place on Wednesday, May 21, 2031. Like the previous ones, this one would also occur in the morning, beginning at 5:48 am and making its way across the country through 6:26 am. Practically every state in the country will witness it in pretty much equal measure, with Rivers, Edo, Enugu, Taraba, Imo and Akwa Ibom slightly more than others.
Zamfara and Sokoto will witness the least obscuration of about 1%. People in Rivers, on the other hand, will witness nearly 18% of their sun blocked out.
Between May 2031 and the total solar eclipse of March 2034, there will be two total lunar eclipses, on October 18, 2032 and April 14, 2033.
