July 31, 2008	Thursday	Rajab 27, 1429

KARACHI, July 30: Though astronomy buffs in the city might be let down by the fact that the total solar eclipse scheduled for Friday, August 1 will not be visible in Pakistan, they might find some consolation in knowing that Karachi will witness a partial eclipse.

According to a statement released by the University of Karachi’s Institute of Space and Planetary Astrophysics (ISPA), the duration of the event in Karachi will be about one hour and 46 minutes, starting from 4.40pm and concluding at 6.26pm. Responding to queries, ISPA in-charge Dr Shahid Qureshi told this reporter that the viewing conditions will entirely depend on the weather.

However, the climatic conditions might place a further damper on the celestial event as a spokesman for the Met Office told Dawn that weather conditions for Friday are expected to range from cloudy to partially cloudy.

According to the statement, the magnitude of the eclipse in Pakistan will remain less than 50 per cent, with Peshawar, Islamabad and Lahore getting the best views. As per a press release issued by the Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission (Suparco), the sun disc coverage in Karachi will be 30.2 per cent, with 57.7 per cent expected in Islamabad.

A solar eclipse occurs when the moon passes between the earth and the sun, partially or totally obscuring the sun.

The ISPA release adds that the eclipse will first be seen in north-west Pakistan, beginning in Peshawar at 4.18pm, where it will last approximately two hours.

Sky-gazers in Canada, central Russia, Mongolia and China will get front-row seats to the great gig in the sky, as the total eclipse will best be viewed in these regions.

However, experts warn that looking directly at the sun even during a partial eclipse can be extremely harmful, possibly even causing blindness. It is advised that the best way to look at the sun’s disc is through indirect projection, such as on a video screen.

The next total solar eclipse is scheduled for July 22, 2009 and viewers in Pakistan should be able to get a better view of that event as it is expected to be longer in duration and visible from central India to central China.