BENGALURU: In what could turn out to be a disappointment for sky-gazers in Bengaluru, only 10 per cent of the solar eclipse will be visible from the city on October 25, provided there is no cloud formation in the skies. Weathermen and officials from India Meteorological Department (IMD) have forecast cloudy sky, without rain, from October 24 to 25, 2022.
Furthermore, Jawaharlal Nehru Planetarium in Bengaluru have made it clear that the eclipse will not be visible from its premises. “Due to the presence of many high rise structures around the area which affects the visibility of the skyline, we are informing and requesting people to climb up tall/high rise structures in the city and look westwards through eclipse glasses to get a view of the solar eclipse,” an official from the planetarium told The New Sunday Express.
Niruj Mohan Ramanujam, Head of the SCOPE (outreach) Section at the Indian Institute of Astrophysics said the maximum visibility of the eclipse will be up to 80 per cent in Russia and Kazakhstan and hence, special screening and live streaming arrangements are being made through social media channels for people to witness the eclipse.
According to some astrophysicists, 55 per cent of the eclipse will be visible in Ladakh from 4.30 pm. The last time Bengalureans witnessed an eclipse was in 2019 during morning hours. This time it is during sunset. In Bengaluru, it will be visible from 5.12 pm to 5.55 pm, said M Y Anand, Senior Scientific Officer at the planetarium.
The eclipse will be 55 per cent visible in Leh, 44 per cent in Delhi, 25 per cent in Mumbai, 19 per cent in Hyderabad and four per cent in Kolkota from 4.16 pm to 6.09 pm. Experts have recommended people to use eclipse glasses or welding glasses (No. 14) to view the eclipse.