Poetry in motion

At the International University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics (IUCAA),one could see two telescopes pointing at the sun. And while none was allowed to look through them because of the harmful rays,the reflections caught from the telescope were projected on a screen to create spectacular display. “The rays are harmful and we thus watched the reflections on the screen. Also,we distributed eclipse goggles and provided scientific information to thousands of enthusiasts who visited the campus,” said Ashok Rupner,member,Scientific Popularisation.

Having started at 11.18 am,the city came under the time belt that could witness only 67 per cent overlap which took place at 1 pm. Jyotirvidya Parisanstha had organised the programme at Shaniwar Wada from where over 3,500 enthusiasts witnessed the ‘crescent sun’. “Crescent moon is common but getting to watch a crescent sun is a lifetime opportunity and we had installed two telescopes and screens with the help of which many people could witness the event at the same time,” said Anuruddha Deshpande of Jyotirvidya Parisanstha.

For Slovakian national Norbert Werner,a researcher witnessing the eclipse was a ‘photographic opportunity’. “It was a grand event and with a silver screen in front of my camera,I clicked countless images of the crescent sun. I am an astronomer but for me,this was more of an astronomical wonder than the research aspects associated with it,” said Werner.

While many visited these common gatherings,there were few who preferred to watch the event from their terraces,rooftops,open grounds and windows. Ashwini Limaye,a standard 11 student said,“I could not visit any of these places and that’s the reason I preferred to look at the sun through the eclipse goggles from our terrace. Watching the moon progress slowly was a memorable experience.”