Solar Eclipse 2022: The second partial solar eclipse of the year will occur on October 25. It will be visible from western Asia, northern Africa, most regions of Europe, the Middle East, and the regions covering the North Atlantic Ocean and the North Indian Ocean. The solar eclipse will begin in India before sunset and will be visible from most places.
For people in India, the partial solar eclipse will begin at around 4:29 pm IST.
What is a partial solar eclipse?
A solar eclipse occurs when the Moon comes between the Sun and Earth, casting a shadow on Earth, or partially blocking the Sun's light in some areas, according to NASA.
During a partial solar eclipse, the Moon and the Sun are not perfectly aligned in a straight line. Therefore, the Moon does not completely cover the Sun. This gives the Sun a crescent shape. It appears as though the Moon has taken a bite of the Sun.
The Moon casts only the outer part of its shadow, called the penumbra, on Earth.
When and how to watch the partial solar eclipse online
The partial solar eclipse will begin on October 25 at around 4:29 pm IST and end at around 6:32 pm IST, for people in India.
The maximum eclipse phase is the one during which the eclipse reaches its maximum magnitude. During this phase, 0.6396 per cent of the Sun will be eclipsed.
People can watch the solar eclipse online on the official website of the Virtual Telescope Project. The eclipse will be streamed live from Rome, Italy.
One can also watch the livestream of the partial solar eclipse on the official YouTube channels of Royal Observatory Greenwich and timeanddate.com.
Also, timeanddate.com will start a live blog on October 25, which will provide live updates of the eclipse.
An interactive Google map of the eclipse can be viewed on eclipsewise.com.
An orthographic map which denotes the visibility for the partial solar eclipse can also be viewed on eclipsewise.com.
Where will the solar eclipse be visible in India?
In the north-western parts of India, the Moon will obscure approximately 40 to 50 per cent of the Sun at that time of maximum eclipse. The obscuration of the Sun will be less than 40 to 50 per cent in other regions of the country.
The partial solar eclipse will not be seen from the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, and some regions of Northeast India, including Aizawl, Dibrugarh, Imphal, Itanagar, Kohima, Sivasagar, Silchar, and Tamelong, among others, according to the Ministry of Earth Science.
For people living in Delhi, the Moon will appear to obscure 44 per cent of the Sun. Meanwhile, for people in Mumbai, the obscuration of the Sun by the Moon will be 24 per cent.
The duration of the eclipse for people living in Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata will be one hour 13 minutes, one hour 19 minutes, 31 minutes, and 12 minutes, respectively.
Phases Of A Partial Solar Eclipse
A partial solar eclipse has three distinct phases, namely, the beginning of the partial solar eclipse, maximum eclipse phase, and end of the partial solar eclipse.
The partial solar eclipse begins when the Moon starts moving over the Sun's disk.
The maximum eclipse phase is the one during which the eclipse reaches its maximum magnitude because the Moon covers more of the Sun's disk than at any other moment during the eclipse.
The partial solar eclipse ends when the Moon stops covering the Sun.
According to earthsky.org, a partial solar eclipse occurs 4.7 days before the Moon reaches apogee, which is its farthest point from Earth. The Sun is in front of the constellation Aries, during a partial solar eclipse.
Solar eclipses occur two to five times a year, and can happen only during New Moon. This is because the Moon passes between the Sun and Earth during that phase.
However, not every New Moon results in a solar eclipse, according to timeanddate.com. This is because the plane of the Moon's orbital path around Earth is inclined at an angle of approximately 5° to the planet's orbital plane around the Sun, called the ecliptic. The points where the two orbital planes meet are called lunar nodes, and solar eclipses occur only when a New Moon takes place near a lunar node.
About 35 per cent of all solar eclipses are partial solar eclipses, which means that they occur more frequently than total or annular solar eclipses, according to timeanddate.com.
The partial eclipse was followed by a lunar eclipse on May 16, 2022. Both the eclipses occurred during the same eclipse season, which is an approximately 35-day period during which it is inevitable for at least two eclipses to take place. Sometimes, three eclipses can occur during the same season.
A total of two eclipses have occurred so far this year. These include one solar eclipse and one lunar eclipse.
The partial solar eclipse occurring on October 25 is the last solar eclipse of the year. The next solar eclipse will not be visible from India until August 2, 2027. Though this will be a total solar eclipse, it will appear like a partial solar eclipse to people in India.
The last solar eclipse of the year will be followed by a lunar eclipse on November 7 and 8. This will be the last eclipse of the year.