Solar Eclipse 2021: Everything you need to know about the first Surya Grahan of the year

The astronomical phenomenon of a solar eclipse (Surya Grahan) is seen when the Moon orbits Earth and moves between the Sun and Earth. When this happens, the Moon blocks the light of the Sun from reaching Earth. This causes an eclipse of the Sun which is also called a solar eclipse (Surya Grahan). During a solar eclipse, the Moon casts a shadow onto Earth.

Three main types of solar eclipses
Total solar eclipse: A total solar eclipse is visible from a small area on Earth. For a total eclipse to occur, the Sun, Moon and the Earth must be in a direct line.

Partial solar eclipse: It occurs when the Sun, Moon and Earth are not exactly aligned. The Sun appears to have a dark shadow on a small part of its surface.

Annular solar eclipse: An annular eclipse happens when the Moon is farthest from the Earth. Because the Moon is farther away, it seems smaller and doesn’t block the entire view of the Sun. The Moon in front of the Sun looks like a dark disk on top of a larger Sun-coloured disk. This creates an illusion of a ‘ Ring of Fire ’ around the Moon.

Solar Eclipse 2021
This year’s solar eclipse (Surya Grahan) will be occurring on Thursday, 10th June 2021. It will be visible only in Ladakh and Arunachal Pradesh in India, a few minutes before the sunsets. In most of the regions, the solar eclipse will start at 01:42 PM (IST) and will be at its peak at 06:41 PM (IST).

The celestial event comes just days after the year’s first super blood moon and total lunar eclipse, which took place on May 26.

The solar eclipse (Surya Grahan) will be witnessed from a vast region of North America, Europe and Asia . For enthusiasts in India, the sighting will become difficult as the path of the eclipse will just be seen in the North-Eastern extremes of the country i.e. in Arunachal Pradesh and Ladakh.

Live stream details
NASA and Timeanddate.com have published the live stream link of the solar eclipse 2021 (Surya Grahan 2021) so that enthusiasts can watch this rare astronomical event online.