Solar Eclipse fetival

Introduction

What is Solar Eclipse

Eclipse means “to overshadow”. The partial or total covering of sun, due to the passing of moon between earth and Sun is called Solar Eclipse.

  

When does it happen?

Solar eclipse can occur only in the new moon phase of the moon. In this phase, the illuminated side of the moon is pointed away from the earth and the sun and moon are in conjunction. This phase occurs every 29.5 days. As moon continuously orbits around the earth, eclipse occurs when it is in line with earth and the sun. Although, every month there is a new moon phase that does not lead to an eclipse every time as the moon and earth are tilted at an angle. Moon’s orbit is at a tilt of 5 degree relative to earth.There are at least 2 Solar eclipses every year.

The cities in India that will be close to Totality of the Solar Eclipse on July 22, 2009 are Surat, Indore, Bhopal, Jabalpur, Varanasi and Patna. In the Eastern part of the country the altitude of the Sun will be 15 degrees. Also, around this time rains will be observed due to south west monsoons. The above mentioned regions will have the best view of totality, while most of the regions in India will be abstained from the view of totality. The eclipse will start from India at 00:51:17 UT on July 22, and end in Polynesia at about 04:19:26 UT.

FAQ’s:

Q: What exactly happens during such a Total Solar Eclipse?
A: During a total solar eclipse, partial phase of eclipse takes place for about hour or more when moon slowly covers the sun but dimming of sunlight is hardly observed during this phase. Then, as moon slides totally in front of sun, the sky starts getting darker. The moon’s black disc appears as a hole in sky and peeking around the black disc should be a number of pinkish solar prominences, gigantic explosions of hot hydrogen gas that boil off from the Sun in spectacular arching shapes. At the last instant, when the Moon completely covers the Sun, observers may view two captivating sights of Bailey’s Beads and Diamond Ring Effect.

Q: How dark does it get?

A: The darkness at the time of total solar eclipse can be compared to darkness of full moon night and even the stars also get visible at the day time. This sight is only observed across the areas in the path of totality while areas away from the path of totality will not get significant dark.

Q: How can I observe the partial eclipse safely?

You should avoid looking directly at the sun to view partial or total eclipse with unprotected eyes as it can cause serious damage to retina and can affect your vision for the rest of life. Listed below are few methods for safely viewing the eclipse:

Solar Filters: 

Viewing through a special aluminized Mylar film designed specifically for eclipse viewing.

Welder’s Glass No. 14: 

Welders' goggles or the filters for welder's goggles with a rating of 14 or higher are safe to use for looking directly at the Sun.

Viewing by projection: 

Use a card with a small hole in it to project an image of the eclipse on a screen, and you watch the screen, not the sun. You can use a piece of paper, or even a straw hat with a little hole in it. Just put something with a little hole in it over a flat surface and you'll see the sun's movement.

Fully Exposed and Developed Black-and-White Film: 

One can make your own filter out of black-and-white film, but only true black-and-white film (such as Kodak Tri-X or Pan-X). Such films have a layer of silver within them after they are developed. It is this layer of silver that protects your eyes.

Camera and Telescope Solar Filters: 

Many telescope and camera companies provide metal-coated filters that are safe for viewing the Sun. They are more expensive than common Mylar, but observers generally like them better because they are available in various colors, such as a chromium filter through which the Sun looks orange. Through aluminized Mylar, the Sun is blue-gray. As with the Mylar, you can look directly at the Sun through these filters.

Caution: 

Do not use color film or chromogenic black-and-white film (which is actually a color film). Developed color film, no matter how dark, contains only colored dyes, which do not protect your vision. It is the metallic silver that remains in black-and-white film after development that makes it a safe solar filter. 

How it Happens :

There are two types of shadows of moon:

1. Umbra: It is represented as the dark grey region of shadow. This is the region where total eclipse is observed on earth as sun is totally blocked by moon.
2. Penumbra: This region depicted by the light grey shadow of the moon, observes a partial eclipse as only partial rays of sun are barred by moon.

As moon is inclined at a relative 5 degrees and has an elliptical orbit, the apparent size of the moon as observed from the earth varies. The type of eclipse experienced depends upon the distance of the moon from the earth during that period. When the earth comes under the umbra region Total eclipse is experienced. The regions of earth under penumbra rays are partially eclipsed, while when the umbra shadow of moon is not able to reach the surface of earth, Annular eclipse is encountered.
Thus, total eclipse is a rare phenomenon.

Types of Eclipse

Total Solar Eclipse: 

In total Solar Eclipse the

moon completely blocks the sun.Total solar eclipse is visible from within the umbral shadow of the moon. It is an extremely marvelous phenomenon and several people make efforts to travel even to remote places to view the eclipse. 

Partial Eclipse:  

           In Partial Solar

Eclipse the moon partially blocks the sun and they are not in complete conjunction. Partial eclipse is usually visible from a large part of the Earth outside of the path of an annular or total eclipse. Partial solar eclipses are visible from within the penumbral shadow of the Moon.

 

 
• Annular Eclipse: 
•  An Annular Eclipse is quite similar to that of a total eclipse except that it takes place during a particular point in the Moon's orbit when it is farther away from the Earth than usual. During annular eclipse the sun looks like a ring or annulus.
  
  
  
  Hybrid Eclipse: 
•  
• In a Hybrid
  
  
  Eclipse some parts of the eclipse path are total and some are annular. People staying near the middle of the eclipse will witness a total eclipse and those at the end of the path will witness an annular eclipse.