Bangladesh is going to witness the first visible eclipse of the decade, classified as the “annular solar eclipse” and popularly known as the “ring of fire” on Sunday, with the Sun appearing as a necklace of pearls for around 30 seconds during the maximum phase.

It will start at 9:46 am Bangladesh Standard Time, and end at 3:34 pm, according to the Met office in Dhaka.

The greatest eclipse will occur at 12:40 pm, it added.

What is Solar Eclipse?

A solar eclipse is witnessed when the moon passes between the Earth and the Sun. During the phenomenon, the image of the Sun is totally or partly obscured. The phenomenon also blocks most of the sunlight, causing the Sun to look like an annulus (ring).

The Solar Eclipse 2020 will be visible through Central African Republic, Congo, Ethiopia, southern Pakistan, Northern India and China. A partial eclipse will be visible in north and east Africa, in south-east of Europe, most of Asia (except the north part of Russia) and in the north of Australia just before sunset. In Europe the partial eclipse will visible for places southeast of the line roughly passing through Perugia, Miskolc, Lviv and Yaroslavl.

Remarkably, the eclipse on Sunday arrives on the Northern Hemisphere's longest day of the year - the summer solstice - when Earth's North Pole is tilted most directly towards the Sun.

The "ring of fire" will first be seen in north-eastern Republic of Congo at 5:56 am local time just a few minutes after sunrise, reports AFP.

This is the point of maximum duration, with the blackout lasting 1 minute and 22 seconds.

Dos and Don'ts

If you are planning to witness the eclipse, it is necessary to take care of a few points:

1. To capture the eclipse, you might need a special solar filter on your lens
2. Looking directly at the sun for a long duration can damage your eyes. Wear proper eye protection or use a telescope
3. Ordinary sunglasses should not be used to view the phenomenon
4. Do not look at the reflection of the Sun in the water.
5. Do not try to cover glass with lampblack or carbon soot and then try to view the eclipse