A partial solar eclipse will occur on October 25. In Bengaluru, the eclipse will begin at 5.12 p.m. and last for 45 minutes. However, only about 10% of the eclipse will be visible.
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“The solar eclipse of October 25 is a partial one, visible over India, except for a large area of the North-eastern States. It is a late afternoon eclipse. Its beginning is visible from India, but the sun sets at most places before the eclipse is over,” said R.C. Kapoor, former professor, Indian Institute of Astrophysics.
A solar eclipse occurs on a new moon day when the moon comes in between the earth and the sun and when all the three objects are aligned. A partial solar eclipse will occur when the lunar disk covers the solar disk partially. According to the Ministry of Earth Science, the obscuration of the sun by the moon will be between 40% and 50% at the time of maximum eclipse in north-western parts of the country while in other parts of the country, the percentage will be lesser.
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The Ministry said that eclipsed sun should not be viewed with the naked eye, even for a very short time. “It will cause permanent damage to the eyes, leading to blindness even when the moon covers most portions of the sun. The safe technique to observe the solar eclipse is by either using a filter like aluminized Mylar, black polymer, welding glass of shade number 14 or by making projection of the sun’s image on a whiteboard by telescope,” it added.
Eclipse during Deepavali
Mr. Kapoor said that the solar eclipse of October 25 is a Deepavali eclipse and that it is not uncommon for an eclipse to occur during the festival. “Solar eclipses do concur with the festival of lights in India. An eclipse occurred on October 17, 1762 and that also happened to be the day of Deepavali. There was a total solar eclipse on October 24, 1995 that happened on the day of the festival of lights and the path of totality passed over India at a favourable time of the day,” he said.
The next solar eclipse will be visible from India on August 2, 2027.