Several parts of the world are waking up to witness a rare celestial event on Saturday, March 29 – this year’s first solar eclipse. The solar eclipse is a celestial phenomenon that occurs when the Moon comes in the way of the Sun and the Earth, blocking the star either partially or completely.
On Saturday, the Moon will only partially block the Sun, which means that the Sun, the Earth and the Moon will not be in perfect alignment, making it a partial solar eclipse. According to NASA, the central part of the Moon’s shadow, where the Sun would appear completely blocked, misses Earth, so no one will be able to see a total solar eclipse this time. However, the eclipse will still cast shadow on several parts of the northern hemisphere.
The partial solar eclipse on Saturday will only be visible in parts of North America, Europe, Africa, northern Asia, small parts of South America, throughout Greenland and Iceland and much of the Atlantic and Arctic oceans, says NASA.
The eclipse, unfortunately, will not be visible in India. However, people in India can still view it through live streaming on several online platforms.
Many of the places that will witness the solar eclipse will mostly wake up to experience it, which means that the eclipse will already be in place during sunrise. This includes much of the North and South Americas, including the northeastern United States. However, in western Europe and northwestern Africa, people will witness the eclipse during mid to late morning and by the time the eclipse will reach eastern Europe and northern Asia, it will already be afternoon or early evening.
According to the Indian Standard Time (IST), the eclipse will start at 2:20:43 pm, peak at 4:17:27 pm before ending at 6:13:45 pm.
Looking directly at the Sun to witness a partial solar eclipse is not advisable and can cause harm to eyes. The eclipse must only be viewed through safe solar viewing glasses, also called the eclipse glasses. A handheld solar viewer can also be used. However, using only sunglasses to witness the eclipse is not safe.
