Solar Eclipse 2020: Find Out When And Where To Watch The Ring Of Fire Eclipse On June 21 In India

Here's how to witness the annular solar eclipse 2020 on June 21 from your city.

FILE PIC: A solar eclipse is visible from district Simeulue, Aceh, Indonesia on December 26, 2019. The so-called ring of fire is seen from 25 districts and cities and its peak takes place between 11 am to 2 pm local time. (Photo by Khalis Surry/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

Solar Eclipse 2020: On June 21, India will witness an annular solar eclipse, and this time the celestial event is coinciding with the June solstice, the longest day of the year. 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. So, the sun appears as a bright ring or annulus. It is also called a ring of fire eclipse. According to media reports, the eclipse will be visible from parts of Africa, Pakistan, Northern India, and China. In India, for most parts of the country, it will appear as a partial eclipse and only a few places will be able to witness annularity.  Where will it start? The eclipse will be first visible in Congo in Africa. A PTI report says that it will then move through South Sudan, Ethiopia, Yemen, Oman, Saudi Arabia, the Indian Ocean, and Pakistan, before entering India over Rajasthan. After this, it will then move on to Tibet, China, Taiwan, before ending in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. According to media reports, the eclipse will begin from 9:15 am and will end by 3:04 pm on June 21(although there might be slight variation in time). Eclipse path in India According to the PTI report, the eclipse will begin near Gharsana in Rajasthan around 10:12 am. Director of the M P Birla Planetarium Debi Prasad Duari said that the phase of annularity in which the sun appears as a ring of fire will begin around 11:49 am and end at 11:50 am. During this one minute, people in Suratgarh and Anupgarh in Rajasthan, Sirsa, Ratia, and Kurukshetra in Haryana, and Dehradun, Chamba, Chamoli, and Joshimath in Uttarakhand will be able to see the annularity or the ring of fire. Director of the M P Birla Planetarium Debi Prasad Duari said in the report, "The annular solar eclipse occurs when the sun, moon and the earth come in a straight line and almost on the same plane. At that moment, the moon must be farther away from the earth in its elliptical orbit and hence, cannot cover the disc of the sun completely, resulting in a narrow band of light around the dark silhouette of the moon, making the ring of fire visible." He added, “However, the ring of fire will not be as prominent this time as it was on December 26 last year and will be a little narrower.” Timings Most Indian cities will witness a partial eclipse. Here’s when to catch the eclipse in your city

City	Start Time	End Time
Kolkata	10:46 am	2:17 pm
New Delhi	10:20 am	1:48 pm
Mumbai	10 am	1:27 pm
Chennai	10:22 am	1:41 pm
Bengaluru	10.13 am	1.31 pm

  It is very dangerous to see a solar eclipse with naked eyes. It is always advisable to protect your eyes and use simple tools like pinhole projection to while observing an eclipse.