SHILLONG, March 8 - There is growing excitement among the public in view of the �Sunrise Solar Eclipse� tomorrow with the Shillong Science Centre, NEHU Campus, making elaborate arrangements for public viewing of this rare phenomenon.
According to astronomers, the next sunrise solar eclipse would be visible in India in 2035. Except for the north-eastern States, the rest of India is lying at the edge of the partial solar eclipse�s zone of visibility. The totality belt moves through the Indian Ocean, and Indonesia is one country which would be seeing a total solar eclipse.
Officials here said that a short programme on viewing of the solar eclipse will be conducted in the morning at 5.40 am at the Shillong Science Centre, NEHU Campus. Students and members of the public have been invited for the programme. The eclipse would begin at 5.35 am, become maximum at 6.12 am and will end at 6.51 am for a duration of 1 hour and 16 minutes.
Officials have said it would not be safe viewing the sun directly and projection would be the safest way of observing the eclipse. A simple pin-hole camera can project the sun's image on a paper or a wall. The eclipse can be viewed with safe solar filters, which might again make the viewing challenging. To view the eclipse one needs to be stationed at a vantage point from where the south eastern horizon is visible.
�A sunrise eclipse always gives the exciting possibility of capturing a rare celestial event with a terrestrial foreground. Take up this eclipse imaging challenge. You will be celebrating astronomy and maybe also India's heritage, through this endeavour,� Rathnasree Nandivada, Director of Nehru Planetarium, New Delhi, said.
