4 eclipses in 2024, none to be visible in India: Astronomer

Indore: There will be four eclipses in 2024, including one total solar eclipse, but none of them will be visible from India, according to a senior official from Jiwaji Observatory in Ujjain city of Madhya Pradesh.

The series of eclipses in 2024 will start with the penumbral lunar eclipse on March 25, the observatory's superintendent Dr Rajendraprakash Gupta said on Wednesday.

A penumbral lunar eclipse occurs when the sun, the earth, and the moon align in an almost straight line.

“This first eclipse of the year will not be visible in India because it will be daytime in the country at the time of this astronomical event,” he said.

The total solar eclipse will occur on the intervening night of April 8 and 9 and it will also not be visible in India, the official said.

The partial lunar eclipse which will occur on the morning of September 18 will not be visible in India as well, he said.

Astronomy enthusiasts and skygazers in the country will also be deprived of the sight of an annular solar eclipse which will occur on the intervening night of October 2 and 3, he said.

The annular solar eclipse will last for 7 minutes and 21 seconds and at its peak, 93 per cent of the sun will be covered due to which it will appear like a shiny bracelet from the earth, he added.

In 2023, there were four astronomical events, including a total solar eclipse, a penumbral lunar eclipse, an annular solar eclipse and a partial lunar eclipse.