Slovakia Today, English Language Current Affairs Programme from Slovak Radio

Just last week certain parts of the world witnessed a very specific type of astronomical event, called an ‘annular’ solar eclipse. This happens when the moon passes directly over the centre of the sun but does not cover it completely, leaving a so-called ‘ring of fire’ visible around the edge. Patrik Čechvala, a PhD astronomy student at Bratislava’s Comenius University whose research is focused on high-energy cosmic and gamma rays, explains why it is that an eclipse of this type sometimes occurs instead of a total solar eclipse; tells us about a few other astronomical events we can look forward to in the future; and offers tips on good websites and apps that can help us understand and visualise what’s happening in the sky. Repeat: Brano Sitar is a nuclear scientist who has worked closely for the past 25 years with the international organisation CERN, where cutting-edge research on sub-atomic particles is giving scientists new insights into the very first moment of the existence of the Universe, less than a microsecond after the Big Bang.