Bhubaneshwar to witness partial eclipse of Sun from 8:20 am to 11:28 am

People of Bhubaneshwar will be able to witness the partial solar eclipse from 8:20 am to 11:28 am on Thursday, December 26, said an advisory. 

As informed by the Ministry of Earth sciences last week an annular eclipse of Sun will occur on December 26. The fullest eclipse would appear at 9:46 am with maximum obscuration of 54.7 percent.

Southern states of India including Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu would see the annular phase in the morning after sunrise. While the rest of the country will witness a partial solar eclipse. 

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According to the Ministry, the narrow corridor of the annular phase of the eclipse will pass through the southern part of the country including places--like Cannanore, Coimbatore, Kozhikoda, Madurai, Mangalore, Ooty and Tirchirappalli. 

 Solar Eclipse 

A solar eclipse occurs when the moon comes in between the earth and the sun and when all three bodies are aligned.  Whereas, an annular eclipse occurs when the moon covers the sun’s centre, leaving the sun’s outer edge visible to form a ‘ring of fire’ or annulus around the moon.

In India, the obscuration of Sun by the Moon at the time of the greatest phase of the annular eclipse will be nearly 93 percent. With movement from north and south of the country from the annular path, the duration of the partial eclipse decreases.

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Obscuration of the Sun by the Moon at time of greatest phase of the partial eclipse will be around 90 percent in Bangalore, 85 percent in Chennai, 79 percent in Mumbai 45 percent in Kolkata and Delhi, 42 in Patna, 33 percent in Guwahati, 70 in Port Blair and 35 in Silchar.

Caution for Solar Eclipse 

Consider the Earth, the partial phase of the solar eclipse will begin at 8 am and will end by 1.36 pm. Whereas, the annular phase will begin at 9.06 am and end at 12.29 pm.

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It is advised by the ministry not to view the eclipsed sun with naked eyes, even for a short time, and cautioned that it can permanently damage the eyesight, could also lead to blindness. Even when the moon covers the most portion of the Sun, the viewer must take precaution. 

The safer technique to observe the solar eclipse is either using a proper filter like aluminized mylar, black polymer, welding glass of shade number 14 or by making a projection of Sun’s image on a whiteboard by telescope, advised by experts.  

(With inputs from ANI)

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