New Delhi, July 11 (IANS) This year’s total solar eclipse on Sunday will be missed by sky gazers in India as the celestial phenomenon will not be visible in Asia.
The eclipse will be visible from parts of the South Pacific Ocean area and South American countries like Argentina and Chile. A total solar eclipse occurs every 18 months.
A solar eclipse occurs when the moon passes between the sun and the earth, and the moon fully or partially covers the sun as viewed from the earth.
‘The total eclipse of the sun will only be visible from a narrow swathe along the southern hemisphere, mainly over the South Pacific Ocean. People in India and rest of the world will not be able to see the spectacular event,’ said Chander Bhushan Devgun, president of the Science Popularisation Association of Communicators and Educators (SPACE).
The eclipse will start at 10.40 p.m. (IST) and will be at its peak around 1.04 a.m., before ending at 3.27 a.m. The sun’s disc will be totally covered for 5 minutes and 20 seconds.
India witnessed a total solar eclipse July 22 in 2009. It was the longest eclipse of the century that lasted for 6 minutes and 44 seconds. The next such celestial spectacle will take place in 2132.
