Professor Chandana Jayaratne, director of the Astronomy and Space Science Unit of the University of Colombo, says that a partial solar eclipse can be seen today (25).
When the Sun and Moon are not perfectly aligned with the Earth and the Moon just partially obscures the Sun, a partial eclipse occurs. This phenomenon is typically visible from a large portion of Earth beyond the track of a total or annular eclipse.
He mentioned that this solar eclipse in Sri Lanka will be visible well in Jaffna and Colombo.
Accordingly, Prof. Chandana Jayaratne further stated that the partial solar eclipse will be visible in Jaffna city for about 22 minutes from 5.27 pm and in Colombo city for 9 minutes from 5.43 pm.
How to safely view a solar eclipse
SOURCE: www.nsc.org
NASA highlights the dos and don'ts of eclipse viewing: • Do not directly look at the sun • Do not use homemade filters or regular sunglasses, even really dark ones • To observe the eclipse, use special solar filters such as eclipse glasses or a portable solar viewer. • Follow the directions for the filter and supervise youngsters • During any phase of an eclipse, do not look at the sun using a camera, telescope, binoculars, or any other optical instrument, and never use solar filters with these devices, since concentrated solar rays can cause significant eye harm and destroy optical equipment. • Inspect your solar filter prior to use; replace it if it is scratched or broken.
