Kolkata to witness partial solar eclipse on Dec 26

Kolkata will witness a partial solar eclipse on December 26. Although the eclipse will be annular in parts of India, Kolkata won’t get to see the annular eclipse this time. The eclipse will start at around 8:26 am, reach its maximum at around 9:52 am before ending at 11:32 am.

What is an annular eclipse?

An annular eclipse occurs when the apparent size of the moon is not enough to cover the entire solar disc, thus leaving out a narrow ring-like portion at the edges, which appears like an annulus or a ring. This type of eclipse is rare and occurs when the moon is further away from the earth on its own orbit, which makes its apparent size smaller in comparison with that of the sun.

How is it different from a total eclipse?

In total eclipse the moon covers the sun wholly, leaving only the faint corona part of the sun visible as elongated flares around the blackened disc. For both total and the annular eclipses to occur, the moon must be at the new moon phase and at the same time it must come in a straight line with the sun and the earth. Since the moon’s orbit is not in the same plane with the earth’s orbit and instead tilted at five degrees towards it, it is rare for both the conditions to be satisfied simultaneously, thus making these types of eclipses rare.

Which parts of the country will witness the annular eclipse?

The annular phase of the eclipse will only be visible from the southern states of Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu. Maximum eclipse will be visible from Bengaluru (89.4%), Chennai (84.6%), Mumbai (78.8%), Hyderabad (74.3%), Port Blair (70%) and Ahmedabad (66%).
The eclipse will start decreasing gradually towards the north and the eastern parts of the country including Kolkata (45.1%), Delhi (44.7%), Patna (42%), Silchar (35%) and Guwahati (33%) where the eclipse will be visible only as a partial one.

Which other countries will be able to view the eclipse?

Saudi Arabia, Malayasia, Indonesia, Singapore, Qatar, Oman, United Arab Emirates, Guam, Sumatra, Borneo, northern parts of Sri Lanka and Mariana islands will be able to see the eclipse.

Where in Kolkata can view the eclipse comfortably?

Birla Industrial & Technological Museum (BITM) – India’s first science museum – has made arrangements for common people to view the eclipse. There will be a telescope installed with filters to view the eclipse from 8:15 am. Entry to the BITM premises will be free to public between 8:00 am and 9:15 am. Special filter glasses will also be there for people to see the eclipse.

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