Pune to miss 2009's first solar eclipse

PUNE: The city will not be witness to the first of two solar eclipses due to occur in the year 2009. A partial solar eclipse due to occur today,
will begin at 10.30 am IST and end at 4.30 pm IST. The eclipse will be seen in the country's southern and eastern belt.

According to Arvind Paranjpye, scientific officer, Public Outreach Programme, Inter-University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics (IUCAA), "The eclipse will be partial from the southern and eastern stations of India. It is an annular eclipse and India will not witness the complete eclipse. The shadow will not pass over Pune, so we will miss it."

The next solar eclipse will be the century's longest duration total solar eclipse, which will occur on July 22, 2009. The path of the totality of the eclipse will pass through India.

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