Solar eclipse: Cloud spoils celestial treat in many places

Hyderabad: All the southern states including Kerala, Karnataka and Tamilnadu and countries like United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Sri Lanka and Indonesia witnessed the solar eclipse of the decade that began around 8 am on Thursday.

The maximum obscuration started at 8:14 am and ended at 11:24 am, lasting for around 3 hours 10 minutes. The eclipse was visible in the southern states and partially in the northern states.

People from all over the world witnessed the celestial event on their TV sets, at space centres using X-Ray and special lenses. People belonging to the Sagittarius sunshine were told not to see the solar eclipse direct or indirectly as per the experts.

Pandits said that this kind of solar eclipse would occur only after 16 years. A decade witnesses 6-7 solar eclipses but a maximum obscuration eclipse is rare.

On the other side, atheists slammed superstitious beliefs and have said that sun signs and stars are fake. They also claim that the solar eclipse occurred due to scientific reasons and has no relations with sun signs and stars. They rubbished the age-old belief that eating anything during the eclipse turns the food into poison.

Places like Trivandrum, cities in Tamil Nadu and other areas witnessed the complete solar eclipse. These places turned dark in the morning. Hyderabad couldn't see any sunlight till 10 am.

Citing an example of a solar eclipse occurred last year, atheists said that they had eaten food during the eclipse and nothing happened to them.

Not everyone could see the solar eclipse, with the Prime Minister Narendra Modi being one of them as the moon covered the sun up to 97% with which the margins of the sun looked like rings, called the "Ring of Fire" by the scientists.

PM Narendra Modi took to Twitter to share his experience. He wrote - "Like many Indians, I was enthusiastic about #solareclipse2019. Unfortunately, I could not see the sun due to cloud cover but I did catch glimpses of the eclipse in Kozhikode and other parts on live stream. Also enriched my knowledge on the subject by interacting with experts."

Like many Indians, I was enthusiastic about #solareclipse2019.

Unfortunately, I could not see the Sun due to cloud cover but I did catch glimpses of the eclipse in Kozhikode and other parts on live stream. Also enriched my knowledge on the subject by interacting with experts. pic.twitter.com/EI1dcIWRIz

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) December 26, 2019