Solar eclipse 2010 in India - Best time for meditation

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January 15 will herald the first annular solar eclipse of the year, which is

believed to be the longest of the millennium.

 

On January 15th India willwitness the solar eclipse, which will be the longest

lasting eclipse in the last millenium. The eclipse will last for 11 minutes at

the peak, and will be first seen in the Southern part of India, staring from

Tamil Nadu, and finally ending in the North-East part of the country.

 

 

The solar eclipse of January 15, 2010 is an annular eclipse of the Sun with a

magnitude of 0.9190. So, how does one define a solar eclipse? According to

experts, " A solar eclipse occurs when the moon passes between Earth and Sun,

apparently blocking Earth's view of the sun, which may wither be partial or

complete. " But, the eclipse that will be seen by the people this January is an

annual solar eclipse; the same occurs when the Moon's diameter is smaller than

the Sun, causing the sun to look like an annulus (ring), blocking most of the

Sun's light

 

According to the N.A.S.A. Eclipse website, " The annual eclipse of the Sun will

be visible from within a 300-km-wide track that traverses half of Earth. The

path of the Moon's antumbral shadow begins in Africa and passes through Chad,

Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda, Kenya, and

Somalia. After leaving Africa, the path crosses the Indian Ocean where the

maximum duration of annularity reaches 11 min 08 s. " It will be visible as a

partial eclipse in much of Africa, Eastern Europe, Middle East and Asia. It will

be seen as annular within a narrow stretch of 300 km (190 mi) width across

Central Africa, Maldives, South Kerala, South Tamil Nadu, North Sri Lanka, Burma

and China.

 

 

At approx 13.20 hrs IST, the annular solar eclipse enters India at

Thiruvananthapuram (Trivandrum), Kerala and exits India at Rameswaram, Tamil

Nadu. The eclipse will be viewable for 10.4 minutes in India, making it the

longest annular solar eclipse of the millennium.

 

 

The best place to view the eclipse from India is Dhanushkodi in Pamban Island

off Tamil Nadu coast.

 

 

The Sun can be viewed safely with the naked eye only during the few brief

seconds or minutes of a total solar eclipse. Partial eclipses, annular eclipses,

and the partial phases of total eclipses are never safe to watch without taking

special precautions. Even when 99% of the Sun's surface is obscured during the

partial phases of a total eclipse, the remaining photospheric crescent is

intensely bright and cannot be viewed safely without eye protection.

 

 

The Sun can be viewed directly only when using filters specifically designed for

this purpose. Such filters usually have a thin layer of aluminum, chromium or

silver deposited on their surfaces that attenuates ultraviolet, visible, and

infrared energy. One of the most widely available filters for safe solar viewing

is a number 14 welder's goggles, available through welding supply outlets.