India Set To Witness Its Deepest Solar Eclipse In A Century; Sun To Appear As A ‘Necklace Or Pearls’

The nation is set to witness its deepest annual solar eclipse on coming Sunday (21 June) when the Sun will appear as a necklace of pearls for a span of about 30 seconds, reports Times of India.

While the eclipse will be partial in display in the rest of the nation, it will be maximum along a narrow corridor running through Rajasthan, Haryana, and Uttarakhand.

This type of solar eclipse occurs when the apparent size of the Moon is slightly less than that of the Sun, giving the appearance of an apparent 'ring of fire' as the Moon comes in front of the Sun. During this year's solar eclipse, the moon is expected to cover as much as 98.8% of the solar disc, resulting into a very thin ring and making the eclipse the deepest in India in an entire century.

It is expected that owing to the depth of the eclipse, the Sun may appear as a necklace of shiny beads due to the emitted light getting filtered through Moon's hills and valleys.

Meanwhile, it should be noted that while solar eclipse takes place each year, it may not be visible across the globe. India will witness the next such eclipse 11 years later in 2031.

The prominent places within the narrow central path of the eclipse include Dehradun, Kurukshetra, Chamoli, Joshimath, Sirsa and Suratgarh.