Last solar eclipse of Year 2020 to be observed today

KARACHI: The last solar eclipse of the year 2020 will take place on Monday, December 14 (today), the Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) said in a statement.

This solar eclipse, however, will not be visible in Pakistan and the South Asian region.

According to the PMD, the eclipse will start at 6:34 pm of Pakistan Standard Time (PST) and end at 11:53 pm.

The eclipse will be first witnessed in South American countries, Chile and Argentina, with full eclipse. Solar eclipse will also be visible in South Africa and the Atlantic and Indian Ocean regions as well as at the Antarctica.

On June 21 this year, an annular solar eclipse occurred which was also visible in some cities of Pakistan.

The partial solar eclipse will begin at 18:34 Pakistan Standard Time (PST) according to the PMD. The greatest eclipse will begin at 21:13 PST and total solar eclipse will end at 22:54 PST while partial eclipse will come to an end at 23:53 PST, the met office stated.

Annular eclipses occur when the Moon — passing between Earth and the Sun — is not quite close enough to our planet to completely obscure sunlight, leaving a thin ring of the solar disc visible.

They occur every year or two, and can only be seen from a narrow pathway across the planet.

A solar eclipse always occurs about two weeks before or after a lunar eclipse, when the Moon moves into Earth’s shadow. Lunar eclipses are visible from about half of the Earth’s surface.

The last lunar eclipse, which was also not visible in Pakistan, was witnessed in other parts of the world on November 30.

The lunar eclipse was visible in South and North America, Australia and some other countries of Asia.