“Like many Indians, I was enthusiastic about solar eclipse 2019,” Prime Minister Modi wrote tweeted along with some of his images. In one, he is seen witnessing the celestial phenomenon wearing protective glasses. While in other he can be seen watching live-stream of the eclipse and yet another picture he can be seen interacting with experts.
“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,” he wrote.
PM Modi also watched the phenomenon on ABP News.
Country witnesses last solar eclipse of the decade:
Several parts of the country witnessed the last solar eclipse of the decade on Thursday. The phenomenon was treat for the sky gazers in Kerala where a perfect Ring of Fire could be witnessed as the moon covered up the Sun in the centre.
Several parts of the country, including Odisha, Kerala, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Bihar and Delhi, witnessed a solar eclipse on Thursday morning, which is said to the last one of the decade.
The solar eclipse, which occurs when the Moon passes between the Earth and the Sun, began at around 8 am and continued till 10:57 am today.
Besides India, the eclipse was also visible in Sri Lanka, Malaysia, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Indonesia, Singapore, Oman and Guam.
People take holy dip in Ganges; doors of temples shut:
The solar eclipse also holds religious importance and special prayers are offered on the day.
The portals of Birla Mandir in the national capital were closed 12 hours before the eclipse after an 'aarti' was performed on Wednesday evening. The temple doors will open at 12 pm today, after which devotees can offer prayers.
Meanwhile, hundreds of devotees also reached the Ganga Ghat in Uttar Pradesh's Varanasi for a holy dip in the river and offer special prayers during the occasion.
There are three types of solar eclipse - partial, annular and total.