The Earth is approaching June Solstice and the Moon is approaching the Ascending Node so as to form a perfect alignment between the Earth, Moon and the Sun for an eclipse to occur. With the Moon at 387,969 km away from us, at an apparent diameter of 0° 31′ 17.56″ and the Sun’s apparent diameter being 0° 31′ 28.52″, the moon will cover the sun but only 98.97% at areas of maximum eclipse. Yes! It’s an Annular Eclipse.
Like the Eclipse of 26th December 2019, this eclipse of 21st June 2020 is also an annular eclipse and quite an interesting one. While the eclipse was Annular in parts of South India and Partial to North Indian places in December, this eclipse is the opposite, with the Annular Belt passing through North Indian places and appearing partial to places in South India.
Eclipse Path & Annularity
The eclipse will begin in the countries in Africa, passing through Asia and a tiny part of Australia being able to watch the climax of the show.
The Annularity will pass through the following countries: Congo, South Sudan, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Yemen, Saudi Arabia, Oman and then into Pakistan, India, China and ending at Guam.
With the eclipse beginning 09:15:58 IST at Congo Brazzaville – the First location to see the eclipse and peaking at 12:10:04 IST at Tibet and concluding at 15:04:01 IST at Guam Islands – The Last location to see the eclipse end.
In India, annularity will be visible at
Gharsana, Rajasthan, India
Sirsa, Haryana, India
Tehri, Uttarakhand, India
Dehradun, Uttarakhand, India along with small number of towns.
Partial at Udupi & Mangaluru
While the eclipse is an Annular Eclipse at certain regions as shown in the map above, people of Udupi and Mangalore will .
The eclipse will appear partial at Udupi; with the eclipse beginning at 10:04 am IST, peaking at 11:37 am and concluding at 1:22 pm lasting 3 hours, 18 minutes.
At Mangalore. where it begins at 10:04am and peaks at 11:36am with the moon exiting the solar disk at 1:21pm after a total duration. 3 hours 17 minutes.
Timings:
Udupi: |
Mangalore: |
||
| Eclipse: | Partial | Partial | |
| Starts: | 10:04:17 am | 10:04:38 am | |
| Maximum: | 11:37:11 am | 11:36:57 am | |
| Ends: | 1:22:45 pm | 1:21:47 pm | |
| Duration: |
|
3 hours 17 minutes 9 seconds |
Safety First!
The pupils dilate when there is not enough light falling into the eye and the dilation of the pupil only mean more light (including UV rays) will enter your eye. More UV rays entering the eyes means loss of vision.
While there are enough websites and resources out there talking about filters and eclipse viewing glasses, here’s something you should know:
When Viewing through filters / Pin holes
- In case of eclipse viewing goggles, always look away from the eclipsed / un-eclipsed sun before wearing the goggles and removing them. Due to the filter blocking the light, the pupils will dilate a good amount to view the filtered sight. Hence removal of the filter when looking in the direction of the eclipse, lets in UV light which will lead to loss of sight.
- In case of Binoculars, Telescopes, Cameras fitted with filters, always keep your eyes away from the eye piece before the application of and after the removal of , the filter. These devices contain lenses that focus the light (also UV rays) onto a point. Therefore when viewed without filter, loss of sight is confirmed along with possible burns due to the amplification of the Infra-red rays from the sun focusing on the eye.
- In case of Pin Hole devices, never look at the sun directly through the pin-hole. Project the image onto a sheet of paper or a wall to view the eclipse projection safely.
Allowed Objects to View the Eclipse:
- Pin Hole Projectors
- Solar Filter that are tested and without scratches and holes.
- Grade #14 or Darker welder’s glasses.
DO NOT USE:
- Sunglasses / Polarized goggles
- Smoked Glass
- Single or Multiple layers of Cellophane or Darkened plastic
- Photographic film
- X-Ray sheets
- Neutral density filters.
Here’s a website elaborating on Safely Viewing Eclipses
Time And Date (the source of most of the images videos and information we have got here) has several pages dedicated to guide you to view the eclipse safely.
- Make a Projector to Safely See a Solar Eclipse
- Make a Box Pinhole Projector to Safely Watch a Solar Eclipse
- Do Sunglasses Protect Eyes in a Solar Eclipse?
- Make a Safe Sun Projector Using Binoculars
Unless you are absolutely sure that the device / filter used will not harm your eyes in any way, DO NOT use them. If there is even a minute doubt about the safety of the setup, it is best not to risk your vision.
Mute the Media
Given the Pandemic there might be several media outlets blaming this eclipse for the Covid-19 outbreak, occurrence of natural disasters and many other things.
NASA has put out a page about Misconceptions about Eclipses which we had posted during the eclipse of December 26. Take a look at it.
Useful Links
Enjoy the Eclipse and we wish you Clear Skies!
PAAC Eclipse Program
Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, PAAC will not be able to organize a eclipse viewing program. With the College closed and most students back home it would be a better idea to Stream the eclipse to each of our students and public through our facebook page. This would also help us maintain Social Distance with everyone at home and safe.
If the clouds permit, PAAC will arrange for the telescope view of the eclipse to be streamed live on our facebook page at : facebook.com/paacppc. So make sure you follow our page for updates regarding the same.
If you view the eclipse from home, may be use or build a pin hole projector to view it, then please do send us the photos on our facebook page.
Wishing you all good health during this pandemic.
References:
- NASA Eclipse Website: Solar Eclipses
- Nasa Eclipse Website: 21st June 2020 Solar Eclipse Web Page
- timeanddate.com: Solar Eclipse 21st June 2020
- timeanddate.com: 21st June 2020 eclipse at Udupi
- NASA Eclipse Website: 21st June 2020 Eclipse Path Data Points
- Nasa Eclipse Website: 20th June 2020 Eclipse Data Sheet
- timeanddate.com: Annular Eclipse 26th December 2019, Udupi
- Exploratorium.edu: How to View a Solar Eclipse
