NEW DELHI: A partial solar eclipse was enjoyed by people in different parts of the country while the faithful bathed in lakes and rivers at pilgrimage sites to mark the occasion. The eclipse began in Iceland on Tuesday, October 25 and ended off the coast of India at around 6:30 pm.
While the partial eclipse was visible in most parts of Europe, northern Africa, the Middle East, and parts of Asia, the visibility for the same in certain parts of Russia and Kazakhstan was said to be 80 per cent. Coming to India the solar eclipse was largely a partial one barring the large areas of the North-eastern States.
Among the Indian cities which witnessed the phenomenon included Chennai, Vellore, Coimbatore, Ranchi, Srinagar, and Mathura. The next partial solar eclipse will take place on August 2, 2027. The partial solar eclipse was observed in several parts of the country with Srinagar witnessing the maximum obscuration of the solar disc at 55 per cent. In Delhi 43 per cent of the solar disc was covered by the shadow of the moon, Jammu (52 per cent), Bengaluru (9.9 per cent), Kochi (5.1 per cent).
As per the Ministry of Earth Science, the obscuration of the sun by the moon was between 40 and 50 per cent at the time of the maximum eclipse in north-western parts of the country while in other parts of the country, the percentage was lesser.
A solar eclipse occurs on a new moon day when the moon comes in between the earth and the sun and when all three objects are aligned. A partial solar eclipse will occur when the lunar disk covers the solar disk partially.
At multiple places across the country, the Astronomy clubs had set up public viewing of the eclipse.
The Indian Institute of Astrophysics, Bengaluru, the Aryabhatta Research Institute of Observational Sciences, Nainital and the Inter-University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics, Pune had set up live streams on YouTube from the sites of their telescopes to view the eclipse. Students from a high school at Hanle in Ladakh had gathered at the Indian Astronomical Observatory here to watch the eclipse.
Thousands of devotees in various parts of the country took a holy dip in rivers and lakes. As per Hindu beliefs, a bath during a solar eclipse is considered auspicious. Many important temples across the country remained closed.