J’khand may not see this yr’s 1st solar eclipse today, thanks to overcast skies

Ranchi: Celestial enthusiasts in Jharkhand are unlikely to witness this year’s first solar eclipse on Sunday, courtesy prevailing overcast conditions which will continue for the next three days, coupled with thundershowers, the Met department said on Saturday.
Talking to TOI, India Meteorological Department director (Ranchi) S D Kotal said, “Heavy overcast conditions are likely to continue in most parts of the state for the next three days and thunderstorms can’t be ruled out either. In all likelihood, people in Jharkhand may not be able to witness the solar eclipse tomorrow.”
The first solar eclipse of this year will be an annular solar eclipse, where the sun, moon and the earth will be aligned in a straight line. While the moon will be away from the earth’s elliptical orbit, it cannot cover the sun completely, which will result in the creation of a ‘ring of fire’.
JSP Gupta, director of the state-owned Ranchi Science Centre in Chiroundi, said that if conditions permit, Jharkhand may witness partial eclipse. Gupta, who is also the executive director of the Jharkhand council of science, technology and innovation, added, “The total eclipse will be there for about three hours and 33 minutes, starting from 10.39am on Sunday.”
He further said that though lots of phone calls poured in him throughout the day to check the availability of their planetarium. “We can’t do much as the entire science centre is closed due to the pandemic.”
Shalini Gupta, a post-graduate student in the department of physics in Ranchi University, said, “Ever since the science centre came into existence, I often used to visit it on every eclipse. This time, I will try to see the eclipse with the help of my telescope in my house, provided the skies get cleared.”