Surya Grahan January 2009 in India – Suryagrahan – Solar Eclipse

A partial solar eclipse, Surya Grahan, will be visible in southeast India on January 26, 2009. According to NASA, the solar eclipse on January 26 is an Annular Eclipse. A partial eclipse will be seen in southern third of Africa, Madagascar, Australia, Southeast India, Southeast Asia and Indonesia. In India it will be visible from 14:02 hrs to 16:31 hrs (Indian Standard Time) on January 26, 2009. As per traditional Hindu calendar, January 26 is an Amavasi Day.

In India, Partial Solar Eclipse will be visible in Kerala, parts of Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Orissa, parts of Jharkhand, West Bengal and northeastern states. At Chennai, the Surya Grahan will begin at 14:28 hrs. The greatest phase will be at 15:19 hrs and it will end at 16:05 hrs. (You can find more detail time around the world in this article)

* The dark red line and circle indicates the path of Annular Solar Eclipse.
* The light blue and grid area of partial eclipse which includes India.

(image from NASA)

All Hindu temples remain closed during Surya Grahan and will reopen only after the Grahan after conducting special pujas and rituals. On the day, Hindus also take holy dip in River Ganga and Brahma Sarovar in Kurukshetra.

Usually, religious Hindus do not perform any work during Surya Grahan and they purify themselves by taking a bath and chants the Ashtakshara Mantra dedicated to Shri Krishna. Ashtakshara mantra is ‘Shri Krishna ha sharnam mama.’

Most astrologers are of the view that this Surya Grahan will only bring bad.

There is also a Total Solar Eclipse on July 22, 2009.

Caution: During Surya Grahan, there are also some elements in society who take undue advantage of innocent Hindus in the name of astrology. Ancient Hindu saints only talk about the physical harm Surya Grahanam can create on human beings. Put the thinking cap and keep out unwanted elements who try to take undue advantage during such occasions. The only aim of such people is money.

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Partial solar eclipse in India on Monday

As the country celebrates Republic Day on Monday, a partial solar eclipse will occur in the afternoon when the moon will pass directly between the earth and the sun.

The partial phase of the eclipse will be visible in southern India, the eastern coastal belt, most of north-east, Andaman and Nicobar Islands and Lakshadweep, Director of Nehru Planetarium N Rathnashree said.

The eclipse will be annular in regions covering south of Africa, Antarctica, South East Asia and Australia.

Annular solar eclipse occurs when the moon is farther from the earth than normal in its elliptical orbit and hence, its apparent size is not sufficient to cover the sun completely, Director of Science Popularisation Association of Communicators and Educators (SPACE) C B Devgun told PTI.

Therefore, even though the sun-moon alignment is perfect, the moon will appear slightly smaller in diameter than the sun and a thin ring of sunlight will remain visible around the dark silhouette of the moon, he said.

Perfect-alignment of the sun and the moon means the apparent sizes of both the celestial bodies will be the same when viewed from earth.

The eclipse will begin at 1026 hrs though it will be visible in India only from the afternoon and end at 1630 hrs tomorrow, passing through various stages.

The first city to witness the eclipse in India will be Kanyakumari at 1408 hrs while it will be visible from 1417 hrs in Port Blair, the last Indian territory in which the celestial phenomenon will continue till 1625 pm.

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