A partial solar eclipse or surya grahan is set to occur on Tuesday, October 25. It will be visible from most parts of Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the western regions of Asia. In India, the eclipse will begin in the late afternoon.
A partial solar eclipse takes place when the Moon passes between the Sun and the Earth. But the three are not lined up perfectly due to which only a part of the Sun is obscured, resulting in its crescent shape during the partial eclipse.
Most parts of India will be able to witness the celestial phenomenon, whose duration varies from city to city. However, people in Andaman and Nicobar Island and in some north-east regions including Imphal, Aizawl, Itanagar, and Kohima wouldn't get to see the eclipse. In addition, the end of the eclipse will not be visible from India as it will continue after sunset.
For Mumbai and Delhi, the duration of the eclipse from its beginning up to the sunset timing is 1 hour 19 minutes and 1 hour 13 minutes, respectively. While the eclipse will begin at 4:29 pm in Delhi, in Mumbai it will be visible from 4:49 pm. The partial eclipse will last for 31 minutes in Chennai where it will start at 5:14 pm. People, in Bengaluru, will get to see the eclipse from 5:12 pm for 43 minutes. Kolkata will witness the partial eclipse at 4:52 pm, which will last for approx. 12 minutes.
In a press release, the Ministry of Earth Science has urged not to view the eclipsed Sun with naked eye, even for a brief period of time. It states that the obscuration of the Sun will be approximately 40-50 percent at the time of the maximum eclipse in north-western parts of India.
