Solar Eclipse 2020 India Timings: X-ray to sun glasses. Here're 5 safety tips you must follow

Solar Eclipse 2020: The first solar eclipse of 2020 or the ‘ring of fire’ will take place on June 21, Sunday. According to the Nehru Planetarium, it will be an annular solar eclipse during which the Moon will cover only 70 per cent of the Sun. Solar Eclipse 2020 marks one of only 5 such instances where a maximum solar eclipse will be visible for India in the next 100 years.

The annular belt of the eclipse in India passes through cities like Joshimath and Dehradun in Uttrakhand, Sirsa in Haryana, parts of Rajasthan, but the eclipse can be seen from various other cities. The eclipse will begin at 10 AM IST in Mumbai. The peak of the solar eclipse will be reached at 11:37 AM IST and it will end at 1:27 PM IST.

According to the Nehru Planetarium, will be first seen in Bhuj starting at 9:58 AM IST and will be seen ending last in Dibrugarh at 2:29 PM IST.

“The the ‘ring of fire’ or the annular solar eclipse will be visible from 10:20 am to 1:48 pm with maximum visibility at 12:01pm in Delhi. Sun will be visible like a necklace. It will travel West to East. People can watch it via webcasts amid the COVID19 lockdown,” Director, Nehru Memorial Museum and Library said.

Tips to watch Solar Eclipse or the ‘ring of fire' without damaging eyes:

Do not use sunglasses, goggles, exposed x-ray sheet or lampblack over a glass. They are not safe.
Don’t look at the Sun directly. Do not look at the reflection of the Sun in the water as water does not reduce the intensity of sunrays to safe limits.
Do not try to cover glass with lampblack or carbon soot and then try to view the eclipse.
Look at the shadow of a bush or a tree. With the gaps between the leaves acting like a pinhole, numerous images of the eclipsed Sun can be seen on the ground. Strainer can be used for making pinhole images.
You can get a pair of specially made goggles to watch the ring of fire, which will allow you to look directly at the Sun without damaging your retina.
If you do not have access to special equipment like glasses, you can make a pinhole in a card sheet and hold it under the Sun.