Scientists, sun-watchers gather in Rameshwaram to watch eclipse

As the shadow of the moon eclipsed the sun on Friday afternoon, leaving only a blazing ring of fire visible, scientists, eclipse chasers and spectators gathered in Rameshwaram cheered.

Thousands had assembled at the seaside pilgrimage spot to witness this rare celestial phenomenon — an annular eclipse of the sun for over 11 minutes.

The eclipse, which could be seen across parts of Africa and Asia, began in India around 11 a.m. in Kerala and was to end around 3:15 p.m. in Mizoram. The southern tips of Kerala and neighbouring Tamil Nadu offered the best views.

In an annular eclipse the sun and moon are directly in line with the viewing point on earth and the outer rim of the sun is visible around the moon’s smaller shadow.

People at Dhanushkodi, about 18 km from here, touted as the best location to watch the longest eclipse in a century, were excited as the moon began to cover the sun.

It is from places like Dhanushkodi, Kanyakumari, Varkala that people would be able to see the ring of fire as the moon tries to block the Solar disc leaving the edges flaring.

“I’ve seen many eclipses. But this is the first time I saw the golden ring of fire. It was perfect,” said Paresh Sanyal, who travelled some 2,260 kilometres from Kolkata to Dhanushkodi. Mr. Sanyal, a veteran of 15 eclipses, calls himself an ecliptomaniac.