The world is going to witness the last total solar eclipse of the year on December 4. A solar eclipse or Surya Grahan occurs when the moon gets between Earth and the sun, and the moon casts a shadow over Earth. There are three kinds of solar eclipses - total, partial, and annular, along with a rare hybrid, which is a combination of an annular and a total eclipse. Exactly 15 days after the Chandra Grahan there will be this year’s second and the last Surya Grahan or solar eclipse. Usually, there are two eclipses at a stretch, but there can be three in the same season. NASA says that the cosmic phenomenon will also be visible from a few other parts of the globe.

 

Timing of Last Total Solar Eclipse in Coordinated Universal Time (UTC)

The solar eclipse will begin on December 4 as a partial solar eclipse at 5:29 am UTC. The total eclipse will begin at 7:00 am UTC. The full eclipse will end at 08:06 am UTC while the partial eclipse will end at 09:37 am UTC. On average, solar eclipses happen every 18 months somewhere on Earth but they last only a few minutes. The duration of the December 4 eclipse will be 1 hour, 43 minutes.

 

Which Countries Will Witness The Last Solar Eclipse?

The solar eclipse will not be visible in India. The countries that will witness partial solar eclipse include New Zealand, Australia, South Georgia, and Sandwich Islands, Saint Helena, Crozet Islands, South Africa, Falkland Islands, Namibia, Lesotho, and Chile.

 

Points To Keep In Mind During Solar Eclipse 

  • Never look directly at a solar eclipse with your eyes.

  • Do not use ordinary sunglasses or dark sunglasses to view the eclipse.

  • Special solar filters, such as eclipse glasses or handheld solar viewers should be used to view the eclipse. You can also use dark arc-welders glass.

  • Once the eclipse is over one should take a bath.

  • You should discard any cooked food after the solar eclipse.

  • Only freshly cooked food should be consumed after Surya Grahan.

  • The food items like wheat, rice, other cereals, and pickles that cannot be discarded should be protected by adding Kusha grass or Tulsi leaves.

  • People can also offer to make offerings or charity to Brahmins as it is considered highly beneficial.

 How To Watch Solar Eclipse 2021 In India?

Those in India and who are interested in watching the solar eclipse can watch the live stream on the YouTube channel of NASA and nd nasa.gov/live. The live stream will begin at 12 pm IST. Using NASA's animated map, the moon’s shadows across Earth can be visualised. Google maps will also provide an interactive map of the eclipse's path. The eclipse will begin after 30 minutes of the live stream. The totality phase will begin at 1:14 pm IST.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Dec 03, 2021 02:36 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).