A solar eclipse also known as Surya Grahan occurs when the moon gets between Earth and the sun and casts a shadow over Earth. India will see its first solar eclipse of 2020, which will fall on 21st June. At 9.15 am, the solar eclipse will start on June 21 as per Indian timing. The full eclipse, however, will start from 10:17 am with the maximum eclipse occurring at 12:10 pm. The first location to see the partial eclipse will be at 09:15 am, and the first location to see the full eclipse will be at 10:17 am.

This occurrence will be an annular solar eclipse where the moon will cover the sun from the center, which will leave the outer rim visible, creating a golden ring. The golden outer rim of the sun stays visible because the relative size of the moon is not big enough to cover the entire sun.

The Press Information Bureau, Government of India, said, “In India, the obscuration of the Sun by the Moon at the time of greatest phase of the annular eclipse will be nearly 98.6 per cent. Obscuration of the Sun by the Moon at the time of greatest phase of partial eclipse will be around 75 per cent in Silchar, 94 per cent in Delhi, 66 per cent in Kolkata, 62 per cent in Mumbai, 80 per cent in Guwahati, 78 per cent in Patna, 37 per cent in Bangalore, 28 per cent in Port Blair, 34 per cent in Chennai. The eclipse starts at one location and ends at another.

In the year 2020, a total of 6 eclipses is expected to take place, out of which 2 lunar eclipses have already occurred in January and June. The second and last solar eclipse of the year 2020 will occur on 14th December 2020.

Additionally, amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, the event could be affected. At Kurukshetra, one of the places where the eclipse will be visible has been prohibited by the administration from Friday, wherein, assembly of more than four people will be banned.

List of Solar Eclipse timings in India: Surya Grahan timings of June 21, 2020

Here is when the solar eclipse will hit Kolkata, Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Bengaluru and its duration.

Solar eclipse 2020: Delhi timings

Partial Eclipse Begins: Sunday, 21 Jun 2020, 10:20
Maximum Eclipse: Sunday, 21 Jun 2020, 12:01 (0.95 Magnitude)
Partial Eclipse Ends: Sunday, 21 Jun 2020, 13:48
Duration: 3 hours, 29 minutes

Solar Eclipse 2020: Kolkata timings

Partial Eclipse Begins: Sunday, 21 Jun 2020, 10:46 am
Maximum Eclipse: Sunday, 21 Jun 2020, 12:35 pm (0.73 Magnitude)
Partial Eclipse Ends: Sunday, 21 Jun 2020, 14:17
Duration: 3 hours, 31 minutes

Solar eclipse 2020: Mumbai timings

Partial Eclipse Begins: Sunday, 21 Jun 2020, 10:00
Maximum Eclipse: Sunday, 21 Jun 2020, 11:37 (0.70 Magnitude)
Partial Eclipse Ends: Sunday, 21 Jun 2020, 13:27
Duration: 3 hours, 27 minutes

Solar eclipse 2020: Chennai timings

Partial Eclipse Begins: Sunday, 21 Jun 2020, 10:22
Maximum Eclipse: Sunday, 21 Jun 2020, 11:59 (0.46 Magnitude)
Partial Eclipse Ends: Sunday, 21 Jun 2020, 13:41
Duration: 3 hours, 19 minutes

Solar eclipse 2020: Bangalore timings

Partial Eclipse Begins: Sunday, 21 Jun 2020, 10:12
Maximum Eclipse: Sunday, 21 Jun 2020, 11:47 (0.47 Magnitude)
Partial Eclipse Ends: Sunday, 21 Jun 2020, 13:31
Duration: 3 hours, 19 minutes

This year’s third lunar eclipse is expected to fall on July 5, 2020.