Thaindian News

Shimla, Jan 12 (IANS) If you want to witness the ‘ring of fire’ but continuous foggy conditions in the north Indian plains are bothering you, visit Himachal Pradesh to catch the glimpse of the rare celestial spectacle - the solar eclipse.
Popular tourist towns like Shimla, Kasauli, Narkanda, Dharamsala, McLeodganj, Chamba, Dalhousie and Manali are witnessing crystal-clear skies with long sunny days.

The millennium’s longest annular solar eclipse will start becoming visible in India Jan 15 between 11 a.m. and 12.30 p.m. and will end between 3 p.m. and 3.30 p.m.

People in most parts of India, including northern cities, will witness the partial phases of the eclipse.

According to the meteorological office in Shimla, the weather will remain dry across the hill state Jan 15.

“The western disturbances are approaching the region Tuesday and Wednesday and there are chances of rain and snow in the state during that period. After these two days, the weather will mainly remain clear,” said Manmohan Singh, director of the meteorological office here.

He said the state would witness a sunny day Friday.

“Of course, due to no damp chill in the mid and high hills, Himachal Pradesh would be the ideal destination to witness the celestial activity,” he added.

People in western and south India would see the beginning of eclipse between 11 a.m. and 11.30 a.m., whereas people from central to northern areas would witness it from 11.30 a.m. to 12 noon.

The eclipse will first be seen in south of Kanyakumari in Tamil Nadu and then move obliquely to Rameshwaram and Dhanushkodi. It will then move on across the Bay of Bengal to Mizoram in the northeast.

In north Indian cities, the people will see the partial phase of this solar eclipse. It will start at 11.53 a.m. and end at 3.11 p.m. The maximum eclipse of 53 percent will be at 1.39 p.m.

Sandeep Sehdev, a professional photographer based in Shimla, said: “Natural events like lunar and solar eclipses are a big part of my life. I love to capture these astonishing sights on my camera. These are the indelible memories. We will train our guns (lens) on the sun from the historic Ridge (an open space just above the Mall in Shimla).”

The path of the moon’s shadow begins in Africa at 10.44 a.m. and passes through Chad, Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda, Kenya, and Somalia. After leaving Africa, the path crosses the Indian Ocean.

The central path then continues into Asia through the extreme southern part of India, Bangladesh, Myanmar, and China. A partial eclipse will be seen within the much broader path, including entire India, or Bangladesh.