Partial Solar Eclipse - 25 October 2022

See the Sun as a crescent!

"On behalf of the Astronomy and Astrophysics community of India, we welcome you to enjoy the celestial spectacle of the partial solar eclipse. The ASI Public Outreach and Education Committee has put together resources here from various Astronomy Organizations and Science Outreach Centres for the public. The Sun is the source of light that sustains humanity. As we celebrate the festival of light on Earth, we hope these resources will help you partake in the excitement of exploring and understanding the Sun and the Cosmos that we share."

- Dibyendu Nandi, Chairperson, Public Outreach and Education Committee, Astronomical Society of India.

A couple of hours before sunset on 25th October this year, as we look towards the western sky, we will see a celestial game of shadows unfold - the Sun and the Moon lining up with the Earth to make a Solar Eclipse. This will be a Partial Solar Eclipse only, which means that the sun will not be completely obscured. The northwest parts of India will experience a deeper eclipse. In these regions a larger part of the Sun will be obscured by the Moon, making it look like a thick crescent.

This spectacle, coming right after Diwali, is a good reason for all to go outside, watch the solar eclipse and enjoy some snacks. Do invite all your friends, family, and your communities to see it too. All relevant information is available here to see the event safely and learn some facts about eclipses - which have been known to be harmless, natural phenomena right from the times of Āryabhaṭa! In case you are unable to go outside to watch the eclipse, you can see its live streaming from various parts of the country.

Join us to celebrate & share this wonder

The ASI-POEC has created a resource base on this page for anyone to see and share the eclipse. Scroll below for Maps and Tables, Teaching resources, Information on observing safely and a Glossary.

MAPS, TIMINGS, LOCATIONS

The timings and maximum fraction of the Sun's diameter obscured by the Moon (called Magnitude) will differ with your location. It is given below for a few cities in various parts of India:

City Maxima Time Eclipse magnitude
Srinagar 17:20 IST 64.6 %
New Delhi 17:30 IST 54.5 %
Jaipur 17:32 IST 51.8 %
Ahmedabad 17:37 IST 45 %
Bhopal 17:38 IST 43.7 %
Mumbai 17:42 IST 36.1 %
Hyderabad 17:45 IST 29.9 %
Bengaluru 17:49 IST 19.5 %
Chennai 17:42 IST 17.3 %
Kolkata 17:01 IST 10.7 %
Kanyakumari 17:55 IST 6.9 %

To figure out which stages of the eclipse you can see, use this handy calculator made by Xavier M. Jubier or take a look at our resources.

Solar Eclipse App

(by Alok Mandavgane)

Live Webcasts (planned)

If you have clouds, you may find these live streaming links useful.

IIA, Hanle

ARIES, Nainital

SPACE India, New Delhi

USO, Udaipur

IUCAA, Pune

Jawaharlal Nehru Planetarium, Bengaluru

Cosmo Sapiens YouTube Channel

Eclipse specific resource material

Information and Activity Handbook

Relevant and useful teaching material

Resource material for Teachers' workshop (ASI-2016)

 

Watching Solar Eclipse Using Telescope or Binoculars:

A simple projection setup made from a cardboard shield and a piece of white paper as a projection surface.

A simple projection setup made from a cardboard shield and a piece of white paper as a projection surface. Image © Sky & Telescope

Warning: It is very dangerous to observe the Sun through any unfiltered optical system (lenses, binoculars, telescopes & even your bare eye). This may cause serious eye damage and even blindness. The Eclipse observation also involves looking at the Sun. Although it will be partially covered, all the precautions that apply to the observations of the Sun apply here too and are essential.

* Projections with small telescopes, would be ideal. We recommend this method as it can give you larger images and they can also be shown to many people. Please see this link for various methods of Projecting the Sun.

* Good quality "Eclipse goggles" (without any tiny holes in them!) may be used.

* Another arrangement will be to put Mylar sheets or commercially available Solar filters in front of the objectives of the binoculars / telescopes that you are using. The magnification provided by a binocular should suffice to show the event. Warning: These filter need to be put so that they cut out light BEFORE it enters the telescope. Make sure of that before you put your eye to the eyepiece.

What will I see … & is it ok to see it?

Yes! It is absolutely okay to see the eclipse, and share the joy of the event with people you know.

We need to take precautions while seeing a solar eclipse. Any accidental viewing of the uneclipsed part of the Sun, especially through a telescope, can permanently damage the eyes. Even so, hundreds of millions of people regularly see solar eclipses safely using solar filters and other devices. If you keep this in mind, there is no other danger.

You may hear that one should stay indoors, and not cook or eat during an eclipse. These kinds of beliefs are common around the world but they have no basis in science. They come from an age when humans did not understand the sky and were easily frightened by eclipses. We would do well to follow the great astronomer Aryabhata (476-550 C.E.) who gave the correct explanation of eclipses as well as a method to calculate them, and did not believe in any of the myths surrounding these events. For further reading on Aryabhata, eclipses, and myths versus science, read this article.

So, you can see the eclipse with all precautions and you can even eat during the eclipse. In short, there are no harmful effects from seeing the eclipse on 25 Oct.

An eclipse is one of the most grand and awe-inspiring spectacles that nature has to offer us. Why would we not want to see it?

MORE USEFUL RESOURCES

Countering Pseudoscience and Misconceptions

Resources to see

The Moon's Role in a Solar Eclipse - by NASA Goddard

 

What do these terms mean?

Partial solar eclipse: A solar eclipse in which the Moon doesn't cover the Sun completely, making the visible part of the Sun appear as crescent shaped.

Total solar eclipse: A solar eclipse in which the Moon completely covers the Sun, making the Sun invisible for up to a few minutes.

Annular solar eclipse:  A solar eclipse in which the Moon's apparent size is slightly smaller than the Sun. This implies that the Moon only covers the central part of the Sun, leaving out a thin ring or annulus like outer part of the Sun for up to a few minutes.

Magnitude: Fraction of the Sun's diameter obscured by the Moon.

Umbra: Darker part of the Moon's shadow falling on the Earth. When you are standing within Umbra, you will see a total solar eclipse. (Won't happen on 25 October)

Penumbra: Lighter part of the Moon's shadow falling on the Earth. When you are standing within Penumbra, you will see a partial solar eclipse.

Solar Filter: A special type of glass or aluminium film which greatly reduces the Sun's intensity, making it safer to see the Sun and solar eclipses.

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