Tomorrow’s Solar Eclipse is going to be most beautiful one and it should not be missed. Here are 4 reasons that make it special and rare. Don’t miss the tips given at the bottom to enjoy the eclipse fully
Ring of fire: This is going to be an annular eclipse which happens when moon is at its farthest point from earth as it obscures the image of Sun but not fully. The apparent diameter of moon is less than that of sun. This phenomenon makes the Sun-Moon combo appear as a dark disc surrounded by a ring of fire. Since 99.4% of the sunlight will be obscured by the Moon, we are set to witness night like darkness in the middle of the day. Isn’t’ it special and rare?
Happening on the longest day of the year: June 21st, the longest day of the year will also mean that we will get sufficient time to experience this eclipse. The catch is that despite the long duration of the eclipse the ring of fire will be visible for just under one minute. PurpleWest is organizing special photography events to make this day as the most satisfying one
The 28 month wait: Though we will witness another solar eclipse in December 2020 but the next annular one is going to be after 28 months. So grab your sunglasses, camera, binoculars and tripod (and yes, mask and sanitizer too) to observe capture a rare form of nature. The show begins at 9:15am on June 21st.
Visible across large part of India: According to NASA, the Moon will block 99.4 % of the Sun at its peak and will be visible very well from Northern India. The “ring of fire” can best be seen, just for a minute, from Suratgarh and Anupgarh in Rajasthan, Sirsa, Ratia and Kurukshetra in Haryana, and Dehradun, Chamba, Chamoli and Joshimath in Uttarakhand. If you are not in any of these areas, don’t lose heart, you will still get breathtaking views of the Sun-Moon combo
Eclipse timing (Indian Standard Time):
The solar eclipse will start at 9:15 AM IST and will go on until 3:04 PM IST. The maximum eclipse will take place at 12:10 IST. According to timeanddate.com, the eclipse will be visible from much of Asia, Africa, the Pacific, the Indian Ocean, parts of Europe and Australia. Eclipse will start near Gharsana in Rajasthan around 10:12 am. The annular phase will begin around 11:49 am and end at 11:50 am
A few precautions and tips to enjoy the eclipse fully
– Follow government issued guidelines to protect yourself from infections
– Wear sun-glasses with UV protection, avoid staring into the Sun with naked eyes
– Use Neutral Density filters for telescopes and binoculars. If not possible, then cover the lens with a dark glass / sheet
– You may also just enjoy the eclipse with your sunglasses on but avoid staring at sun continuously
– You may also just project the image of Sun using a convex lens (magnifying glass) or concave mirror, on a small screen and observe the entire phenomenon happening right in front of you
While taking photographs using DSLR
a) Use a Neutral Density filter to cover your lens before you focus on the Sun, this will protect the image sensor from damage
b) Avoid looking into the eye-piece, rather look at the image through the LCD screen
c) As soon as the ring of fire gets formed, open your aperture fully and adjust the shutter speed to get optimum exposure/ sharp images. Practice in advance by taking pictures with similar settings, of a distant street light an evening before and save the settings. One minute of annular ring will not allow you enough time to experiment. Keep everything ready
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If for any reason, you can’t step out, follow PurpleWest Facebook page for live updates.
PurpleWest will keep you posted on the happenings of the Solar eclipse through social media and other online channels. For any more details, please do not hesitate to reach out to your PurpleWest mentor, any time before or during the eclipse.
