Solar Eclipse 2020 Live: The total solar eclipse will last for two minutes and 10 seconds (Source: Getty Images/Thinkstock)Solar Eclipse 2020: Earth witnessed its last solar eclipse of the year on December 14. Unfortunately, the total solar eclipse was not visible from India. The total solar eclipse began at 7:03 PM for IST, peaked at 9:43 PM and came to an end at 12:23 AM on December 15 as per timeanddate.com.
However, the total solar eclipse was visible for people living in parts of Chile and Argentina in South America. In southern parts of South America, south-west Africa and Antarctica, people witnessed a partial solar eclipse. The total solar eclipse occurs when the moon completely blocks the sun. The celestial event lasted for a total of two minutes and 10 seconds.
The previous solar eclipse of the year was an annular solar eclipse that occurred on June 21, 2020. Even though the total solar eclipse was not visible in India, people were able to watch it online on the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s (NASA) website.
A solar eclipse is pictured during a cloudy day, in Villarrica, Chile December 14, 2020. (Source: REUTERS/Cristobal Saavedra Escobar)
The moon covers the sun during a solar eclipse in Piedra del Aguila, Argentina, Monday, Dec. 14, 2020. The total solar eclipse was visible from the northern Patagonia region of Argentina and from Araucania in Chile. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)
A bird is seen next to a solar eclipse, visible in parts of Chile, Argentina and Brazil, in Porto Alegre, Brazil, December 14, 2020 (Source: Reuters)
An eclipse happens when the moon while orbiting the Earth, comes in between the sun and the Earth, due to which the moon blocks the sun’s light from reaching the Earth, causing an eclipse of the sun or a solar eclipse. There are three types of eclipses: one is a total solar eclipse, which is visible only from a small area on Earth. According to NASA, people who are able to view the total solar eclipse are in the centre of the moon’s shadow as and when it hits the Earth. A total solar eclipse happens when the sun, moon and Earth are in a direct line.
The second type of a solar eclipse is a partial solar, in which the shadow of the moon appears on a small part of the sun. The third kind is an annular solar eclipse, which happens when the moon is farthest from the Earth, which is why it seems smaller. In this type of an eclipse, the moon does not block the sun completely, but looks like a “dark disk on top of a larger sun-colored disk” forming a “ring of fire”.
* The rays of the sun are extremely bright and damaging when looked at directly. Special glasses can be purchased specifically for this purpose. If you are an avid sun observer we would recommend that you invest in a good pair of solar viewing glasses. However, if you just want to see this specific phenomenon, you can get one’s made out of cardboard.
* Due to the current COVID-19 situation many would not be able to arrange for these special glasses. They can try getting a welder’s filter, which is used by arc welders in fabrication shops. These sheets can be purchased from hardware shops.
* If you cannot arrange a pair of solar glasses or a welder’s filter, you can use the pinhole imaging technique. To employ this technique, you need to make a pinhole in a card sheet and hold it under the Sun, below which you need to keep a white paper. This will put up an image of the Sun on the paper.
* Using the pinhole imaging technique you can also put up the image of the Sun directly on a wall. To do so, you can tape a pinhole card sheet o a mirror and reflect the image of the Sun on a distant wall.
* You can use a similar imaging technique by putting up a white paper sheet on which you redirect the damage of the sun by holding a pair of binoculars on top of it.
Don’ts to watch the solar eclipse
* Don’t look at the Sun directly.
* Ordinary sunglasses should not be used to view the phenomenon.
* Do not look at the reflection of the Sun in the water.
* Do not try to cover glass with lampblack or carbon soot and then try to view the eclipse.
The first solar eclipse of the year 2020 just concluded. Pictures of the annular solar eclipse made it to the social media platforms where we could see the partial solar eclipse as well as the maximum eclipse showing a “ring of fire”.
When the eclipse looked so magnificent from the Earth, imagine what it would have looked like from space. Well, there is no need to imagine because we have actual pictures and videos showing just that. Astronauts and satellites in the space saw the round shadow of the moon over Earth’s surface and they shared it for us to see as well.
NASA astronaut Chris Cassidy, who is living and working in space, shared pictures of the Earth during the solar eclipse. In the pictures, we can see the shadow passing over the Earth’s surface, and it looks exotic, to say the least.
“Super cool view of the Annular Solar Eclipse which passed by our starboard side as we flew over China this morning,” Cassidy wrote. “A pretty neat way to wake up on Father’s Day morning! Hoping all of the dads in the world have a wonderful day.” READ MORE
Tourists in central Chile hoping to experience a total solar eclipse faced disappointment on Monday as thick fog rolled in along the coastline and rain clouds obscured the sky. More than 100,000 tourists had travelled to the lakeside villages of Pucon and Villarica, despite a recent uptick in cases of Covid-19 in Chile, according to official reports.
A solar eclipse happens when the moon casts a shadow on Earth, fully or partially blocking the Sun’s light in some areas. NASA also says that one must never look directly at the Sun during the solar eclipse, without wearing the special eyewear. Special eclipse glasses are a must for viewing the celestial event. Also regular sunglasses are not safe to view the eclipse. Of course, those of us in India can just watch the livestream on NASA's website here https://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/nasatv/index.html#media to see the eclipse without worrying about damaging our eyes.
As per Indian Standard Time (IST), the total solar eclipse will begin at 7:03 PM. It will peak at 9:43 PM as the Moon will block the Sun for a total of two minutes and 10 seconds. Finally, at 12:23 AM on December 15 the last solar eclipse of the year will end.
Since the total solar eclipse is not visible in India, you can watch the celestial event online by accessing the live link provided by the National Aeronautics Space Administration (NASA).
A total solar eclipse occurs when the New Moon comes between the Sun and Earth and casts the darkest part of its shadow, the umbra, on our planet. On the other hand, in partial or annular solar eclipses, the Moon blocks only a part of the Sun.
NASA will provide live coverage of the solar eclipse that will pass over South America. It will be visible in parts of Chile and Argentina. This is a total eclipse of the Sun. It will not be visible in India.
As per solareclipse.info, the next total solar eclipse that will be visible from India is projected to occur on March 20, 2034. On the other hand, the next solar eclipse is projected to occur on June 10, 2021.
The total solar eclipse will not be visible from India. For a total of two minutes and 10 seconds, people living in parts of Chile and Argentina in South America will be able to witness the total solar eclipse. Apart from Chile and Argentina, people living in southern parts of South America, south-west Africa and Antarctica will be able to witness a partial solar eclipse.
The total solar eclipse will start at 7:03 PM, peaking at 9:43 PM and will end at 12:23 AM on December 15 as per timeanddate.com. Unfortunately, it will not be visible from India because it will appear late in the evening.
NASA will provide live coverage of the total solar eclipse in the Spanish language as well. A Spanish-language program will air on NASA Television and the public channel on the US space agency’s website. The programme will focus on discussions on how scientists use eclipses to study the sun along with real-time views of the celestial event.