“Looking at it directly can cause severe damage to the eye and
vision. There are special goggles made for looking at the Sun. These goggles
filter the sunlight for safe viewing”
Posted
On: 20 JUN 2020 11:25AM by PIB Delhi
·
By TV Venkateswaran
A rare celestial event, annular solar
eclipse, popularly called as ring of fire eclipse will be visible this Sunday.
The first solar eclipse of this year takes place on the summer solstice, which
is the longest day in the Northern Hemisphere. While people living along the
path annular eclipse passing through Anupgarh, Suratgarh, Sirsa, Jakhal,
Kurukshetra, Yamunanagar, Dehradun, Tapowan and Joshimath will be able to see
the annular phase, people in rest of India can witness a partial eclipse.
When Moon comes between the Sun and Earth, the shadow falls on the surface of the Earth. The Sun is entirely covered by the Moon for a brief period. Those places that are engulfed by the dark, dense umbral shadow of the Moon experience the total solar eclipse. In the regions that plunge into the soft diffused penumbral shadow of the Moon experience the partial eclipse. In all solar eclipse the Sun, Moon and Earth may not be perfectly aligned, and then we only have a partial eclipse. When the three celestial bodies happen to be in a straight line, we have Total solar eclipse.
"Annular solar eclipse is a particular case of the total solar eclipse. Like the total solar eclipse, the Moon is aligned with the Sun. However, on that day, the apparent size of the Moon happens to be a wee smaller than the Sun. Hence the Moon covers the central part of the Sun, and the rim of the Sun appear like a 'ring of fire' in the sky for a very brief moment" explains Samir Dhurde of The Inter-University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics, Pune.
The distance between the Earth and
the Moon at the moment of the eclipse can dictate the type of eclipse that will
take place. The distance between the Earth and the Moon is always changing due
to the egg-shaped elliptical orbit of the Moon. This means that there are times
where it is closer to the Earth and appears slightly bigger in the sky and
times where it is farther away and appears somewhat smaller in the sky.
Coincidentally, during the eclipse that takes place on June 21, 2020, the
apparent size of the Moon is smaller than that of the Sun by 1%.
At the onset of the solar eclipse,
Sun gives a characteristic appearance of a bitten apple. A small part of the
Sun is covered by the disc of the Moon. After that, slowly and steadily the
disc of the Moon embraces larger and larger part of the Sun. On a narrow track
that the Moon's shadow traces on Earth during an annular solar eclipse, people
can see the Moon traversing on the Sun and covering the central part. As the
Moon is not able to block out the entire Sun, a bright ring of sunlight around
the Moon will be visible. This is how this type of eclipse earned the nickname
the "ring of fire" eclipse.
"If we miss this opportunity, in
India we have to wait for about 28 months for the next solar eclipse. The
next solar eclipse , which will be a partial solar eclipse, visible from India
will take place on October 25, 2022. It would be visible in the western part of
India" said Aniket Sule, Chairperson, Public Outreach & Education
Committee of the Astronomical Society of India.
Sun is a very bright object, and
looking at it directly can cause severe damage to the eye and vision. There are
special goggles made for looking at the Sun. These goggles filter the
sunlight for safe viewing. "Often the Public Outreach and Education
Committee of Astronomical Society of India and other astronomical institutions/
planetariums and other science popularisation agencies usually make
arrangements for safe viewing of the eclipse. However, due to the lockdown this
time, we are not able to make solar filters available. Further, we strongly
advise people not to gather in large numbers to view the eclipse given the
pandemic situation. There are easy tips for viewing the eclipse from the safety
of your home" says Arvind Paranjpye, Director, Nehru Planetarium, Mumbai.
Allying rumors that the eclipse will
mark the end of coronavirus, Aniket Sule said "Solar eclipse is
caused when the Moon comes in front of the Sun for a short time. As seen from
Earth eclipses occur somewhere in the Earth 2 to 5 times a year. Eclipses do
not impact microorganisms on Earth. Likewise there no danger in eating of
stepping out during an eclipse. No mysterious rays come out of the Sun during
an eclipse."
Tips for viewing the eclipse:-
Do not use sunglasses, goggles,
exposed x-ray sheet or lampblack over a glass. They are not safe. Nor is
viewing the Sun's image on the surface of the water.
Welders glass #13 or # 14 can be used to see the Sun directly with naked eyes.
Make a pinhole in a card sheet and hold it under the Sun. At some
distance, keep a screen of white paper. Image of the Sun can be seen on
this sheet. By adjusting the gap between the sheet and the screen, the image
can be made larger.
Look at the shadow of a bush or a tree. With the gaps between the leaves acting
like a pinhole, numerous images of the eclipsed Sun can be seen on the ground.
You can use a strainer for making pinhole images.
Cover the 'compact' makeup kit mirror
with black paper, with a small hole at the centre. Reflect the image of the Sun
on a distant wall in shadow. You can get a projected image of the eclipsed Sun.
Info tips
Bhuj will be the first town in India
to see the beginning of the eclipse 9:58 a.m. The eclipse ends 4 hours
later at Dibrugarh, Assam at 2:29 p.m. Ghersana at the western boundary of
India will be the first to witness the annular phase of the eclipse at 11:50
a.m. It will last for 30 seconds. Kalanka peak in Uttarakhand will be the last
major landmark to see the annular eclipse at 12:10 p.m. lasting for 28 seconds.
Annular Eclipse of 2020 Jun 21
Table 1
Sites where the annular eclipse will
be seen.
Site
Begins
Max
End duration
Dehra Dun 10:24
AM 12:05
PM 1:50
PM 14.0
Gharsana
10:12 AM 11:50
AM 1:36
PM 29.8
Kalanka
10:28 AM 12:10
PM 1:55
PM 28.0
Kurukshetra 10:21
AM 12:01
PM 1:47 PM
30.4
The Moon will cover about 99.5 % area
of the Sun.
Table 2
Sites where partial eclipse will be seen
Site Begins Max
End %cover
Agra
10:19
AM 12:02
PM 1:50
PM 90
Ahmedabad 10:03
AM 11:41 AM 1:32
PM
82
Amritsar
10:19 AM 11:57
AM 1:41 PM
94
Bengaluru 10:12
AM 11:47 AM 1:31
PM
47
Bhuj
09:58 AM 11:33
AM 1:23
PM 86
Chennai
10:22 AM 11:58
AM 1:41
PM 46
Dibrugarh
11:07 AM 12:54
PM 2:29
PM
89
Gawahati
10:57 AM 12:45
PM 2:24
PM
84
Hyderabad 10:14
AM 11:55
AM 1:44 PM
60
Indore
10:10 AM
11:51 AM 1:42
PM 78
Jaipur
10:14
AM 11:55
AM 1:44
PM
91
Japal
10:15 AM
11:56 AM 1:44
PM 59
Jodhpur
10:08 AM 11:47
AM 1:35
PM
91
Kandla
09:59 AM 11:35
AM 1:24
PM 85
K’kumari
10:17 AM 11:41
AM 1:15
PM
33
Kochi
10:10
AM 11:38 AM
1:17 PM
40
Kolkata
10:46 AM 12:35
PM 2:17
PM
72
Leh
10:29
AM 12:06
PM 1:47
PM 87
Lucknow
10:26 AM 12:11
PM 1:58
PM
88
Mt. Abu
10:05 AM 11:44
AM 1:34
PM
87
Mumbai
10:00 AM 11:37
AM 1:27
PM
70
Naini
Tal 10:25
AM 12:08
PM 1:54
PM 96
Nanded
10:11 AM 11:53
AM 1:42
PM
66
New Delhi 10:19
AM 12:01
PM 1:48
PM 95
Port Blair
11:15 AM 12:53
PM 2:18
PM 39
Pune
10:02 AM 11:40
AM 1:30
PM 67
Rajkot
09:59 AM 11:35
AM 1:25
PM 82
Shilong
10:57 AM 12:46
PM 2:24
PM
83
Srinagar
10:23 AM 11:59
AM 1:40
PM
86
Trivandrum 10:14
AM 11:39
AM 1:15
PM 35
Udaipur
10:07 AM 11:47
AM 1:36
PM
86
NB/KGS/(India Science Wire)
(Release
ID: 1632833)
PIB
