Parts of India will be able to witness the annular solar eclipse today, on December 26. According to the Institute of Mathematical Sciences, Chennai, this annular eclipse happens once in 140 years. It is also going to be the last Solar eclipse of the decade.
During the eclipse, the Sun will appear like a ring around the Moon, as the moon will move between the Sun and the Earth.
The eclipse will also be visible from Saudi Arabia, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Oman, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, Northern Mariana Islands, and Guam, reported The Hindu.
Obscuration of the Sun by the Moon at the time of greatest phase of partial eclipse will be around 90 per cent in Bangalore, 85 per cent in Chennai, 79 per cent in Mumbai, 45 per cent in Kolkata, 45 per cent in Delhi, 42 per cent in Patna, 33 per cent in Guwahati, 70 per cent in Port Blair and 35 per cent in Silchar.
Considering the Earth as a whole the partial phase of the eclipse will begin at 8 am. The annular phase will begin at 9: 06 am and end at 12:29 pm. The partial phase will end at 1:36 pm.
Where and when to watch the eclipse?
According to a release from M.P.Birla Planetarium, Kolkata, the maximum eclipse will be clearly visible in
Agartala at 10.01 a.m
Ahmedabad at 9.22 a.m
Bengaluru at 9.29 a.m
Bhubaneshwar at 9.46 a.m
Chandigarh at 9.31 a.m
Chennai at 9.34 a.m
Hyderabad at 9.30 a.m
Jaipur at 9.27 a.m
Kolkata at 9.52 a.m
Mumbai at 9.21 a.m
New Delhi at 9.30 a.m
Patna at 9.45 a.m
Pondicherry at 9.34 a.m
Port Blair at 10.07 a.m
Srinagar at 9.30 a.m
Thiruvananthapuram at 9.30 a.m
Kannyakumari at 9.31 a.m
Madurai at 9.31 a.m
Mysore at 9.28 a.m
Nagpur at 9.31 a.m
Pune at 9.23 a.m
How to safely view the eclipse?
The ministry said that eclipsed sun should not be viewed with the naked eye, even for a very short time and cautioned that it will cause permanent damage to the eyes leading to blindness even when the moon covers most of the Sun.
Safe technique to observe the solar eclipse is either by using a proper filter like aluminized mylar, black polymer, welding glass of shade number 14 or by making a projection of Sun's image on a white board by telescope, it said.
With inputs from Agencies.
