Stargazer buddies drive 700km to chase Kurukshetra’s ‘Ring of Fire’

LUCKNOW: Two city stargazers travelled over 700 km to Kurukshetra in Haryana to watch 'Ring of Fire' during solar eclipse was `maximum clarity’ and have a feel of the natural events triggered by the celestial event about which they had read in books so far.
One of their friends also joined the journey from Farrukhabad.
The duo dedicated the effort as a tribute to actor and astro-enthusiast Sushant Singh Rajput whose Instagram posts on astronomy inspired them to revive their childhood passion that got neglected after they got occupied by different full-time professions.
Swapnil Rastogi (25) and Pushkar Pathak (30) learnt from NASA website that Kurukshetra is one of the few places in India from where the central line of eclipse was expected to pass, which meant that the phenomenon would be visible with maximum clarity.
Packing bags with safe solar filters, advanced sophisticated cameras, high-resolution lenses, imported solar goggles and filters they had purchased online during the lockdown, the duo drove for over 12 hours on Saturday to reach their destination, spent all on field on Sunday and would be back on Monday.
“Entire effort was only to view the celestial event, particularly `Ring of Fire’ or Necklace of Pearls’ - the name given to a circular ring that forms when the moon comes in between earth and sun. We were stopped multiple times on route by the police because of restrictions due to pandemic but we had taken permission from authorities in advance. Very few people that too from nearby areas had come to witness the event at the spot," said Swapnil, an executive in a private bank, while talking to TOI on phone.
Swapnil, who is also president of Scientific Knowledge for Youth Amateur club, Lucknow, said that he followed actor Sushant Singh Rajput on Instagram and liked his posts especially the ones on astronomy. “Sushant was an amateur astronomer who pursued his passion despite being a busy actor. I too have liked sky watching since childhood and developed astronomy as a hobby, which got neglected when I got involved in my banking job,” he said.
“What we had read so far was right before our eyes - As the moon gradually slid in between earth and sun, noon turned into evening and birds started flying back home thinking it to be sunset. And, then that moment came when the moon covered the sun, leaving only a shining thin line for about 45 seconds which is described as a necklace of pearls or ring of fire, he added .
Pushkar Pathak, managing director in a private company, said “On the way, they picked a friend Amritanshu Bajpai from Farrukhabad. Since prohibitory orders are in place in Haryana, no hotel was ready to give us room. We somehow managed to convince one to let us spend two nights” he said.
The entire effort paid off as the trio were able to witness the eclipse for full duration from 10am to 3pm, particularly those few seconds when the ring of fire was formed with full clarity.
“Watching sun and moon hugging each other cannot be described in words,” said Pushkar, adding “Sushant’s death came as a shock for us and we decided to pay our tribute in this manner”.
The duo will be making a documentary of their experience and facts collected during the exploration.