Solar Eclipse 1 August 2008

Friday, the first of August 2008 will be a day of total solar eclipse. It will be visible totally in parts of Russia, Mongolia and China. The solar eclipse will be partial in parts of North America, Europe and Asia including India.

In India, The eclipse will begin at 1.34 p.m when the shadow of the moon will first touch the earth and will end at 6.08 p.m. when the moon's shadow leaves the earth at sunset near a point in the Bay of Bengal close to Andaman Nicobar Islands.

A solar eclipse is a celestial phenomenon that occurs when the Earth's moon passes between the sun and the earth in such a way that the Sun is wholly or partially obscured from view from the earth. This happens only during a new moon day ( Amavasya in Indian languages), when the Sun and Moon are in conjunction as seen from the Earth. There can be between 2 and 5 solar eclipses each year on Earth, with upto 2 of them being total eclipses. Total solar eclipses are however rare at any location because during each eclipse totality exists only along a narrow corridor in the relatively tiny area of the Moon's umbra.


Looking directly at the Sun even for just a few seconds, can cause permanent damage to the retina, because of the intense visible and invisible radiation that Sun's photosphere emits. This damage can result in permanent impairment of vision, and even blindness. The eye's retina has no sensitivity to pain, and the effects of retinal damage may not appear for hours. The best way to observe teh solar eclipse is to watch it on TV or at the local planetaurium. However, pin-hole cameras may also be used depending on the eclipse and the efficiency of the pin-hole cameras.
Indian traditions have several beliefs regarding solar eclipse as applicable to food, bath and other rituals that are followed to this day.

The next solar eclipse is on 26 January 2009. The Next total solar eclipse is on 22 July 2009

The above scientific details have been condensed from Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_eclipse_of_August_1,_2008

The post regarding the eclipse on 22 July 2009 is available here.

The post regarding the eclipse on 15 Jan 2010 is available here.