By Michael Zeiler
On the 20th of March, the Faroe Islands is one of only two places on land that experience the total solar eclipse. The other is Svalbard. Both locations present challenges; cloudy weather, cold temperatures, and low sun altitude during eclipse.
This blog post highlights eclipse visibility maps in the Faroe Islands. The previous blog post features visibility maps for the Faroe Islands. See more maps of this eclipse at http://www.greatamericaneclipse.com/march-20-2015/
The maps below will be useful to the residents of the Faroe Islands and eclipse visitors so that they can avoid shadowed areas during the eclipse. The Faroe Islands have many mountains and the sun will only be about 19 degrees high during the total solar eclipse. Luckily, most of the settlements of the Faroe Islands will enjoy a fine view of totality given clear weather. However if scattered clouds force a quick relocation, the maps below will be useful in finding an area with good visibility of the total solar eclipse if and when the clouds clear.
The maps show simulated shadows during the three moments; when the moon first bites into the sun and begins the start of the eclipse (called 1st contact), the mid-point of the total solar eclipse, and when the moon leaves the sun and ends the start of eclipse (called 4th contact). The maps showing the shadows during the total solar eclipse incorporate an adjustment to provide at least one-degree of vertical clearance above the local ridge line.
I built these maps using Esri's ArcGIS software on a digital elevation model (DEM) with a resolution of 90 meters. Local authorities and media may freely share and link to these images provided a credit (in English or translation) is given to "Map by Michael Zeiler, www.greatamericaneclipse.com".
I've spent many hours developing these maps for the benefit of eclipse chasers and eclipse tour operators. These maps are offered at no cost. If you would like to show your appreciation for my effort, consider a purchase from our web store, www.greatamericaneclipse.com/store/.
These three maps below show detailed maps of the most populous regions of the Faroe Islands. You can click on each map and save to your computer for printing. Each map is 26 inches high and 23 inches wide, or about 66 cm by 58 cm.
The three maps below show a general map spanning all the Faroe Islands. You can click on each map and save to your computer for printing. Each map is 21 inches high and 27.5 inches wide, or about 53 cm by 70 cm.