DD blinks at eclipse prospect

BHUJ, Aug 8: Though U.S. space agency NASA has identified Bhirandiyara village in the famed Banni pasture as the best spot in the country...

BHUJ, Aug 8: Though U.S. space agency NASA has identified Bhirandiyara village in the famed Banni pasture as the best spot in the country to watch the August 11 total solar eclipse, the millennium8217;s last, Doordarshan has shelved its plan to telecast the event live from the spot.

During the last total solar eclipse, Doordarshan had chosen to telecast the event live from Nim Ka Thana in Rajasthan. However, Bhirandiyara, 40 km from here, will have no such luck.

Reason: the Indian Space Research Organisation ISRO has refused to spare its costly camera and other state-of-the-art equipment, as the agency will be busy celebrating the birth anniversary of its founder, Dr Vikram Sarabhai, which falls on August 12.

As a result, according to highly placed sources, the organisations currently here to make preparations for celestial event said that Doordarshan had now decided to make alternative arrangement to telecast the event via satellite from abroad.

When contacted on Sunday, A.G. Dhaneshwar Rao, a co-ordinating official of the Gujarat Council on Science amp; Technology, who is here to liaison with various agencies confirmed this, but refused to be drawn into any controversy. 8220;I know Doordarshan had planned and approached ISRO for the purpose, but do not know what happened later on,8221; he said.

On the event itself, Rao said science teachers and students from different parts of the country will be here to have a grand view of the total eclipse. He said they would be taken to Lakhpat, the last bordering taluka of the country, from where the shadow of the moon will the first time fall on Indian territory. At this place, it will obstruct view of the sun for a full minute.

Rao, however, said the main experiment would be made at Bhirandiyara village where the total eclipse would be seen for 69 seconds. The total eclipse will also be seen at Khavda for 59 seconds and Bhuj for 22 seconds. He said a sophisticated radio telescope from Germany had been brought to view the eclipse in the event of the sky becoming cloudy.

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He said astrophysicist Dr V B Kamble would be coming here to conduct experiments, along with Dr Narendra Sehgal, who will be flying in a supersonic aircraft of the Indian Air Force to film the shadow. He will fly from Jamnagar within Indian air space to record the conditions prevalent before the eclipse and then move with the shadow back to Jamnagar. The total eclipse will be visible at these places in the state duration given in brackets: Dhrangadhra 1:05 m; Limbdi 54 seconds; Surendranagar 1:02 m; Morvi 28 seconds; Dholaka 54 seconds; Dhandhuka 29 seconds; Anand 49 seconds; Borasd 1:02 seconds; Khambhat 58 seconds; Petlad 1:02 minutes; Rajpipla 35 seconds; Jambusar 28 seconds; Padra 1:03 minutes; Vadodara 1:02 minutes; Dabhoi 1:02 minutes; Sojitra 1 minute; and Vavad 41 seconds.