Clouds clear for eclipse glimpse

Apart from the 1,500 people who had gathered on the roof of the museum to witness the spectacle,the organisers had also arranged for multimedia projection in the three auditoriums for others. There were nearly 100 schoolchildren who had come in the wee hours to view the eclipse.

“We reached here at 5 am but we heard that people had lined up from 4.30 am. Such was the enthusiasm,” said the official.

Later in the day,the museum held two shows for schoolchildren where they replayed the entire spectacle. “I do remember the 1995 solar eclipse though I was a lot younger then. Initially,I thought we would not be able to see it because of the clouds but the sky became clear and I saw the eclipse with the help of the telescope,which I had prepared at a BITM astrological gadget workshop,” said Ganguly,who was accompanied with his elder sister.

But many others who had travelled to Patna to see the event were left disappointed. “We could not see much. We heard that except for Raiganj where the eclipse was very clearly visible,the rest was complete washed out,” said Satyajit Chakrabarty of Paschim Banga Vigyan Mancha.

Most of the scientists were surprised to see the enthusiasm among the general public about the eclipse. “It’s a good thing that people have realised that there is nothing superstitious about an eclipse and people have been able to shed their beliefs,” said Chakrabarty.

From early morning,people were seen gathering on rooftops to watch the spectacle and many neighbourhoods had even arranged a pinhole projector for public viewing.

“We will try to arrange photographs from NASA and other scientists,who have captured the full eclipse,for our shows,” said Debiprosad Duari,Director (research and academic),M P Birla Planetarium.

For those who missed this spectacle,there is the 2010 annular eclipse to fall back upon. “There are four types of eclipse and the total solar eclipse is the most spectacular of them. The annular eclipse occurs when the sun and the moon are exactly in line with the sun appearing as a ring behind the moon due to the latter’s smaller size,” said Arijit Dutta Choudhury,director,Science City. The eclipse will,however,be witnessed only from South India.

Another eclipse will be witnessed in June 2034,which will pass through northern Kashmir.

The one after that is expected to take place on June 3 in 2114,which will once again pass through the densely populated cities of the country.