Know All About Eclipses In 2021; Only Two Will Be Visible From India This Year

There will be four eclipses in 2021 and only two of these will be visible from India. Know all about when and from where you will be able to witness the eclipse.

(Representative Image/ Getty)

New Delhi: The new year 2021 will witness four eclipses, including one total solar eclipse and one total lunar eclipse, two of which will be visible from India. Eclipses have a special significance in India as practices like astrology are associated with them. On Sunday, Ujjain-based Jiwaji Observatory’s Superintendent Dr. Rajendraprakash Gupt told PTI that the first of these events will be on May 26, and will be seen in parts of West Bengal, coastal Odisha, and in the north-eastern states, except Sikkim, as the moon is visible earlier in these places than other parts of the country. “The earth will cover the moon by 101.6 percent during this astronomical event,” he said. Gupt said the annular solar eclipse on June 10 will not be visible in India, and in this event, the moon will come between the sun and earth, leading to the sun getting covered 94.3 percent and being seen as a ‘ring of fire’. An annular solar eclipse happens when the sun and moon are exactly in line with the earth. But the moon is too far away to completely cover the sun like in the case of a total eclipse. None of the two solar eclipses in 2021 will be visible in any part of the country. A lunar eclipse occurs when the Sun, Earth, and Moon are completely or partially inclined such that the Earth blocks sun rays from reaching the lunar surface. Lunar Eclipses are of three types -- complete, partial, or penumbral. He explained the partial lunar eclipse which will occur on November 19th, 2021, can be seen from Arunachal Pradesh and some parts of Assam for a very short period. “At the peak of this event, 97.9 percent of the moon will be seen covered by the earth’s shadow. The total solar eclipse on December 4, the last of 2021, will, however, not be visible from India,” he added. 2020 witnessed two solar and four lunar eclipses and the last solar eclipse occurred on December 14.