The biggest celestial event of the year as it comes to a close. An Annular Solar Eclipse descended upon parts of Pakistan on 26 December, Thursday morning!
It started at 7:30 am , peaked at 8:37 am and went on till 1:06 pm. The eclipse was also viewed in other countries including Myanmar, Indonesia, UAE and India.
People had been advised not to look at the sun with the naked eye during the eclipse because it may cause permanent eye damage or even blindness. However, special sighting events were arranged with protective glasses, sun filter telescopes to view the event.
This eclipse was not a total eclipse but an annular one, meaning that the sun and the moon were positioned in a way to form a "ring of fire" as the moon won’t be able to completely cover the sun. Hence its edges will be illuminated.
The rare and historic event was completely different from the total solar eclipse that took place in August 1999 due to the 'albedo effect'. It means that most of the radiation did not reach the ground and got deflected back into space because of cloudy skies previously.
Ring of Fire Solar Eclipse Descends upon Pakistan