New Delhi: A solar eclipse, first of the millennium to be witnessed from India, is taking place on May 31, Nehru Planetarium said.

There have been other solar eclipses in this millennium, but these were not visible from India. It would be the first solar eclipse of the millennium, which could be seen from India, Nehru Planetarium director Dr N Rathnasree said.

This eclipse falls into the category of annular eclipse, different from a total eclipse in which the sun is fully eclipsed by the moon and only the corona, the outer radiation of the sun, is visible from the Earth.

In the annular eclipse, moon is at a slightly longer distance from the Earth compared to the total solar eclipse. Therefore, the disk of the moon is not able to completely eclipse the disk of the Sun, she said.

The uncovered part of the Sun would be visible as a ring from the places – Greenland and Iceland – where maximum eclipse would be seen. In other parts of the world only partial phase of the eclipse would be seen, she said.

India would view less than 20 per cent of the eclipse, that is, only less than 20 per cent of the sun would be eclipsed. Northern part of the country in a belt from Gujarat to Uttar Pradesh including Delhi, Jaipur, Srinagar, Chandigarh and Agra would be able to see the partial phase of the eclipse.

However, one should not dare to see the eclipse with naked eye, she cautioned.

It would be seen at different times from various places in the country, she said, adding in Delhi the visible phase would begin at 7.36 am (IST) and end at 8.30 am (IST).

PTI