SHILLONG: A total solar eclipse will occur on March 9 and it will be seen as partial solar eclipse at sunrise from most places including Shillong except from north-west and western parts of the country.
The total eclipse phase will begin at 5.47am (IST) and it will last till 9.08am. The partial phase will, however, end at 10.05am (IST).
The sun rise in Shillong on March 9 will at 5. 39am. The partial eclipse will last for one hour, nine minutes and 11 seconds.
A statement issued by PIB said on Tuesday that in most places of India, the partial phase of the eclipse begins before sunrise i.e. partially eclipsed sunrise will take place. However, start of partial phase of the eclipse will take place just after sunrise from extreme north east India. As one moves towards the east of the country, the duration of the partial eclipse increases reaching upto a duration of about one hour and more in extreme Northeast India and in Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
In India obscuration of the Sun by the moon at the time of greatest phase of partial eclipse will be 11. 7 percent in Shillong and around 15 percent in Agartala, 24.5 percent in Bhubaneswar, 11 percent in Guwahati, 18.5 percent in Kolkata, 12 percent in Patna, 49 percent in Port Blair, and 12 percent in Silchar. However, the greatest phase of the partial eclipse will not be seen from many places in India as the sunrise will take place after the time of occurrence of greatest phase at these places.
The Moon’s penumbral shadow produces a partial eclipse, visible in the region covering South East Asia including India, Thailand, Indonesia, South Korea, Japan, Australia and the North Pacific Ocean.
The total eclipse of the Sun would be visible within a narrow corridor in the northern Hemisphere. The totality path would passe through Sumatra, Borneo, Indonesia and the North Pacific Ocean. The instant of greatest eclipse occurs at 7 h 27 m IST when the eclipse magnitude reaches 1.044 with duration of totality 4 minutes and 14 seconds in a region of Pacific Ocean. Eclipsed Sun should not be viewed with the naked eye, even for a very short time.
