Know about the first Solar Eclipse of 2016

On Wednesday 9th March, 2016 many countries over the world as well as India witnessed a total Solar Eclipse or Surya Grahan. It was observed in many parts of the country except for most parts of the western and north western India. In India the solar eclipse was seen during the time of sunrise. The total solar eclipse began at 05:47 AM (IST) and lasted upto 09:08 AM whereas the partial solar eclipse lasted till 10:00 AM (IST).

Reuters: Belitung in Indonesia was the best place to witness the total solar eclipse

A total solar eclipse takes place when the moon comes in between the Earth and the sun and it blocks the sunlight from reaching the Earth’s surface. This was the case of total solar eclipse which took place yesterday in many parts of the world. The solar eclipse was visible in few parts of Australia, South Asia and East Asia. The last total solar eclipse where the sun was covered fully took place on 11th August 1999.


This year of 2016 there will be four eclipses which India will witness:

• Total solar eclipse on 9th March, 2016
• Lunar eclipse on 23rd March
• Solar eclipse on 1st September
• Lunar eclipse on 16th September




A total solar eclipse occurs when the moon covers the sun completely and blocks the entire sunlight whereas an annual solar eclipse or a partial solar eclipse occurs when the moon covers the sun partially and only a certain percentage of light gets blocked. It is believed in India that during the time of solar eclipse people here avoid taking food and drinking water. The sun rays are believed to be harmful and can bring adverse effects on one’s health during this duration of solar eclipse. People prefer to stay indoors during solar eclipse.

An eclipse is believed to be a natural phenomenon where it is considered to be a bad omen in ancient as well as modern cultures. People avoid direct eye contact during solar eclipse and hence use some indirect techniques to view the sun. It is absolutely not safe to view the sun through naked eye as it can damage our eyesight. The figure on the left hand side shows about the details of the solar eclipse which took place on 9th March, 2016. It shows those zones and regions of the world which had experienced the solar eclipse yesterday. As seen from the given figure of the world map it is observed that mostly the eastern, north eastern and south eastern part of India witnessed the solar eclipse.

Article by Anisha Dutta

She is a content evangelist who believes that the Science of today is the Technology of tomorrow. 

She can be reached at https://twitter.com/Anisha_Dutta29