Kolkata: A fleeting solar eclipse on Diwali

KOLKATA : The city will get a fleeting glimpse of a partial solar eclipse on Kali Puja-Diwali evening on October 25.
"On the day we celebrate the festival of lights, darkness will descend a little early on a new moon night as the partial solar eclipse will be around dusk," said Institute of Astronomy Space and Earth Science-Kolkata director Debiprosad Duari.
It will be visible from most of Europe, northern Africa, Gulf and parts of Asia. The partial solar eclipse will begin in Iceland around 2.29pm (India time), can be viewed at its maximum from Russia at 4.30pm India time and will end around 6.32pm over the Arabian Sea.
The eclipse will not be visible from the north-east because it will occur after the sunset in those regions. The eastern part of the country, including Kolkata, will see the partial eclipse, that too during the sunset. The northern and western part of the country is a better location to witness the partial eclipse with a better view and for a longer period of time.
In Kolkata, the partial eclipse will begin at around 4.52pm, the maximum occurring at 5.01 m and will cease to be seen at 5.03pm. "Even at the maximum eclipse, only 4% of the lighted disc of the setting sun will be covered by the moon," Duari said.
In Siliguri, around 9% of the disk will be covered while in Delhi, 24.5% or a quarter of the sun will be covered by the moon, the same as viewed from Mumbai. In Jaisalmer, which is India's western-most city, around 42.5% of the sun will be obscured by the moon.
Duari cautioned those trying to view the cosmic event need to take extreme precaution as the sun's rays can cause damage to the eyes. One has to take care and use only certified mylar solar filters and No.14 welder's glass to observe it. "Sunglasses, exposed X-ray films or any other methods should not to be used because it can cause irreparable damage to the eye," he warned.