Cloud cover and low altitude of sun make eclipse easy on the eyes

Panaji: Taking skygazers by surprise, the partial solar eclipse was fully visible to the naked eye. Nearly 300 astronomy enthusiasts gathered to witness the phenomenon at Miramar beach on Tuesday evening.
“In Goa, towards the last 10 minutes of the eclipse, the sun itself started setting through the clouds and the intensity of the rays were naturally diminished,” president of the Association of the Friends of Astronomy (AFA), Satish Nayak, said.
“Since the sun was shining at a much lower altitude and through a cloud cover, it was considered safe to see the eclipse with the naked eye. We could, therefore, view the eclipse directly without any solar goggles,” he said.
Chief minister Pramod Sawant made a surprise visit to the telescopic viewing activity at Miramar beach which was hosted by the AFA.
The AFA had placed three telescopes at the Miramar beach and the chief minister used one of these to view the different phases of the eclipse during its peak, at about 5.20pm.
Sawant urged the children attending the viewing to take an interest in science and explore the opportunity of viewing the wonders of the astronomical sky instead of being superstitious about the eclipse.
Similar viewing arrangements were made by the AFA at Benaulim beach, Margao, and at the premises of a school in Porvorim where about 50-100 people gathered to witness the partial solar eclipse.
The first contact of the eclipse wherein the moon touched the sun’s disk, took place at exactly 5pm, as calculated and predicted by the India meteorological department. Slowly, the moon started entering the upper right side of the sun.
“However, it did not pass through the sun at our latitude. It merely grazed by the upper side and went away,” Nayak said.
After the maximum eclipse was witnessed at 5.45pm, the sun set into the Arabian Sea at 5.55pm, showcasing a setting eclipse. The sky was cloudy at the lower horizon making it difficult to see the ending of the eclipse.