Anjaneya temple closed during solar eclipse at Ganganagar in Bengaluru on Tuesday. | Photo Credit: SUDHAKARA JAIN
The partial solar eclipse was visible in Bengaluru on Tuesday with many observing the phenomenon from their rooftops. The partial solar eclipse, the last one for 2022 began at 5.12 p.m. and ended at 5.55 p.m. when the sun set. In Bengaluru, the percentage of the eclipse was 10% and the maximum eclipse occurred at 5.49 p.m. Though the eclipse ended at 6.27 p.m., it was not visible after sunset, said an astrophysicist.
While the city’s streets wore a deserted look with residents preferring to stay indoors and most temples closed during the eclipse deferring to religious beliefs, science enthusiasts and anti-superstition activists busted myths around the eclipse.
Indian Institute of Astrophysics (IIA) and Jawaharlal Nehru Planetarium livestreamed the partial solar eclipse from Hanle, Ladakh on their YouTube channels with professional astronomers addressing queries from the public. The astronomers also dispelled the myths surrounding the eclipse and also explained the scientific importance of such events. To break the myth that it is completely safe to eat during the eclipse, food and refreshments were served at the IIA and Centre for Research and Education in Science and Technology (CREST) campus in Hoskote.
Activists of the Anti-Superstition Federation gathered on the steps of Town Hall in the city and distributed various foods, including sweets for passers-by creating awareness against superstitions surrounding the eclipse. However, several temples opened up only after the eclipse was over, after a complete cleaning of the temple premises.
There was a lot of curiosity among the public as the eclipse occurred during Deepavali. However, R.C. Kapoor, former professor, Indian Institute of Astrophysics, said that it is not uncommon for an eclipse to occur during Deepavali.
"Solar eclipses do concur with the festival of lights in India. An eclipse occurred on 17 October, 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," Prof. Kapoor said.
According to Jawaharlal Nehru Planetarium, the obscuration of solar disc in Bengaluru was 10.09%, at Mysuru it was 9.16%, at Bellary it was 14.82%, at Agumbe it was 12.11%.
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.
The next solar eclipse will be visible from India on August 2, 2027.
