India wakes up to solar spectacle

By siliconindia   |   Wednesday, 22 July 2009, 14:38 IST   |    3 Comments
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India wakes up to solar spectacle
New Delhi: As dawn broke Wednesday, the century's longest total solar eclipse began with thousands of sky gazers craning their neck skywards to catch the glimpse of the rare celestial spectacle. The sun rose eclipsed Wednesday morning at 5:28 a.m. at a local sunrise point in the Arabian Sea close to the western coast of India near Surat in Gujarat. Thousands of people, children and adults, thronged the sky watching sites across the country with their solar goggles to watch the eclipse. In India, the totality phase will last for some 3 minutes 30 seconds and places like Surat in Gujarat, Indore and Bhopal in Madhya Pradesh, Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh and Patna and Taregna in Bihar will observe the total solar eclipse. The total eclipse was between 6:20 a.m. to 6:25 a.m. when the sun was completely obscured by the moon. The total phase of the eclipse lasted about six minutes and 44 seconds, making it the longest eclipse of the century. The next such celestial spectacle will take place 2132. Thousands of people who had gathered in Taregna, a small village in Bihar to witness the total eclipse were disappointed Wednesday as the Sun remained hidden under cloudy skies. The eclipse was to begin at 5:29 a.m just after the sunrise but cloudy skies spoiled the mood of the thousands of people, children and adults, who thronged there to watch the celestial spectacle However, people are optimistic for a more clear picture when the eclipse will reach its totality at 6:24 a.m. The total eclipse was expected to last three minutes and 48 seconds at Taregna, which has hit national and international headlines as the celestial phenomenon was believed to be best glimpsed from here.

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