Thaindian News

New Delhi, July 20 (IANS) Sky gazers are looking forward to watching the total solar eclipse on July 22, even as scientists fear the weather may play spoilsport.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has forecast a cloudy sky July 22 with possibility of rain and thundershowers.

The solar eclipse Wednesday, originating in the Gulf of Cambay in Surat, is expected to last 6 minutes and 44 seconds, making it the longest eclipse of the century. The next such celestial spectacle will take place 2132.

Delhi will witness 85 percent of the eclipse. It begins at 5:30 a.m. and ends at 7:20 a.m, lasting for an hour and 50 minutes.

“People in Delhi will not be able to watch the totality phase of the eclipse. The greatest phase will be around 6:25 a.m. when 85 percent of diameter of the sun will be eclipsed,” N. Rathnashree, the director of Nehru Planetarium, told IANS Monday.

Explaining the possibility of a cloudy sky on Wednesday, Rathnasree said: “According to weather forecasts it seems clouds may cause the city to miss the eclipse. But we hope the skies remain clear thus making it possible for people to watch the celestial activity.”

During the eclipse, the shadow of the moon will be so large during this eclipse that even at sunrise, the duration of totality phase will be over three minutes. The shadow very quickly moves across the breadth of India towards Arunachal Pradesh. It spans a third of the entire path in India, 900 km out of 2,500 km.

Nehru Planetarium, in collaboration with the Amateur Astronomers Association, Delhi and Science Popularisation Association of Communication and Educators (SPACE) will be conducting a public skywatch for the eclipse.