Solar eclipse to cast spell tomorrow

Hyderabad: Visakhapatnam is one of the best places on mainland India to observe Wednesday’s solar eclipse. While the eclipse will be total over the Pacific, it will be only partially visible over most parts of India.

It will not be visible in the west and northwestern parts of the country. In Hyderabad, the sun would rise at 6.29 am on March 9, allowing people to see only 12 per cent of the solar eclipse.

In Vizag, the sun will rise at 6.10 am allowing astronomy buffs time till 6.49 am to watch 28.5 per cent of the sun obscured by the moon. However for observers in Port Blair, the sun will rise at 5.31 am, and the moon will block 49 per cent of the sun.

This time, the central path of the eclipse travels through Port Blair, where the eclipse can be seen for the maximum duration in India. Almost all parts of western India lie outside the path of the eclipse, and people will not be able to see the celestial spectacle.

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So what will Hyderabadis see?

Dr Raghunandan Kumar, director, Planetary Socie-ty of India, said, “When one looks at the eastern sky at 6.am on March 9, one will see the sun rising. The moon will rise at 6.30 am. At about 6.32, one will see the moon’s shadow slowly blocking the sun. At its maximum, 12 per cent of the sun will be blocked.”

Observers in Agartala, Tripura, would see 15.1 per cent of the sun obscured, in Guwahati 11, Kolkata 18.5, Bhubanes-war 24.5, Patna 12 and in Port Blair, 49 per cent of the sun will be behind the moon. If one misses this eclipse, the next one is more than three and a half years away.

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“On December 26, 2019, the solar eclipse can be viewed from all over Hyderabad. In fact, the occurance can be seen from all over the country. The obscuration during the event has to be calculated,” the director said.

A solar eclipse occurs when the moon passes between the sun and the Earth in such a way that the sun is wholly or partially obscured. This can only happen during a new moon when the sun and moon are in conjunction as seen from the Earth.

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The March 2016 solar eclipse is happening after a gap of four years. The last time a solar eclipse that was visible from a few parts of northern India occurred on January 4, 2011. The last solar eclipse visible all over India occurred on January 15, 2010.