Solar Eclipse 2019: How to view the annular solar eclipse safely

KARACHI: Residents in Karachi, along with other parts of the country, will be able to witness the annular solar eclipse after 20 years on Thursday (today), but  the experts have warned sky-gazers to take precautions.

According to the researchers, the eclipse will start at 7:35 am (local time). It will turn into a total eclipse at 8:46 am and end at 10:30 am. The earth shall cover 97% of the centre of the sun, offering for a few minutes appearance of the "ring of fire" on the sky.

Warnings

The experts have warned the people not to look directly at the sun without any protective eye apparatus as it could damage their eyesight. The radiation will be much more direct than it was during the last solar eclipse that occurred 20 years ago.

The  experts have  rubbished the claims that the eclipse could be viewed safely by using a welder’s mask, candle wax smeared on glass, car tinting film or through the reflection in water.

 According to the experts, any of this attempts won’t cut the sunlight by a safe enough degree, They warned not to  use  these methods  to  view the  sun eclipse.

Safe Viewing Techniques

According to the experts and the researchers, that the sun can be viewed safely using the naked eye only during a total eclipse, while during partial and annular solar eclipses, the sun should not be viewed without proper equipment and techniques.

Not using proper methods and equipment for viewing can cause permanent eye damage or severe visual loss, it says. Safety equipment includes eclipse glasses and using appropriate solar filters for covering binoculars, telescopes and cameras.

However, elaborate arrangements to observe the annular solar eclipse, with due provision for needed safety, have been made at the Astronomical Observatory.

The common method is to project the image of the moon passing in front of the sun through a telescope and onto a white sheet by turning the eye-piece of the telescope towards the sheet. This is ideal for groups of people who don’t have enough glasses. And for this people should only use a telescope with metallic parts, particularly the eye-piece, because if it’s plastic or rubber, it will burn.

Solar Eclipse

A solar eclipse occurs when the moon passes directly between the Earth and the sun, but the type of eclipse that unfolds depends on how far away the moon is from the Earth.

But on Thursday, the moon will be near apogee, the point in its orbit when it is farthest away from the Earth. As a result, the moon will not quite be large enough to cover the entire sun, leaving behind a ring of light.