Surya Grahan or solar eclipse, the first cosmic event of 2020, will take place on June 21. This will be an annular eclipse, often called the “ring of fire”. The Surya Grahan, visible from India and a few other parts of the world, is scheduled to kick off at 9:15 AM IST and will reach its peak at 12:10 PM IST.
Apart from India, it will be visible from Asia, Africa, Europe, Australia and of course India, on Saturday. According to a report by NASA, this year the Moon will be able to block 99.4 percent of the Sun, when at the peak of the eclipse. The second and last solar eclipse of the year will take place on December 14, which will be a total solar eclipse.
The annular eclipse happens when the Sun, Moon and Earth comes on the same plane and the Moon is farthest from the Earth. Moon being smaller does not block the entire Sun so it forms a “ring of fire” effect.
The “ring of fire” will be visible for only a minute, from Suratgarh and Anupgarh in Rajasthan, Sirsa, Ratia and Kurukshetra in Haryana, and Dehradun, Chamba, Chamoli and Joshimath in Uttarakhand.
Though the annual solar eclipse can be viewed with bare eyes, without any equipment, but it is recommended to use some kind of eye protection.
While Sutak for adults begins at 9:52 PM on June 20 and ends at 1:49 PM on June 21, Sutak for children, senior citizens and patients starts from 5:24 AM to 1:49 PM on June 21.