Several parts of the world are witnessing this year's first solar eclipse on Saturday, March 29. This rare celestial phenomenon takes place when the Moon comes in the way of the Sun and the Earth, blocking the star's path partially or completely.
As per the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the central portion of the Moon's shadow, where the Sun would appear completely blocked, misses Earth this time. Therefore, no one will be able to see a total solar eclipse on Saturday.
The partial solar eclipse will only be visible in some parts of North America, few of South America, Africa, Europe, northern Asia, throughout Greenland, and Iceland and much of the Atlantic and Arctic oceans, the US space agency said.
The eclipse will not visible in India. However, people can still watch it through live streaming on several online platforms.
Search Surya Grahan on Google
Google also marks this rare celestial event with a special effect. The Alphabet Inc.'s platform shows a special animation when you search for 'solar eclipse' or 'surya grahan'.
An animation of how a solar eclipse looks like, the Moon's shadow blocking the Sun's path, pops up upon hitting the search button on Google.
{{/usCountry}}An animation of how a solar eclipse looks like, the Moon's shadow blocking the Sun's path, pops up upon hitting the search button on Google.
{{/usCountry}}Google is known to make special character pops or small animations over special occasions and events.
According to the Indian standard time, the solar eclipse will start at 2:20 pm, peak at 4:17 pm, and end at 6:13 pm. The total duration of this phenomenon is about four hours.
People have also been advised to not look directly at the Sun to witness a partial solar eclipse as it can cause harm. The eclipse must only be viewed through safe solar viewing glasses, also known as eclipse glasses.
Even then, it is not safe to look at the eclipse via any optical device such as camera lens, telescope or binoculars.