Neither Uttarayan nor superstitions could deter people from viewing the cosmic phenomenon.
Despite the festive spirit of Uttarayan, thousands from across the state gathered at Science City to witness the solar eclipse on Friday.
Close to 3,000 enthusiastic parents, students, teachers and scientists from across the state gathered at the Science City to view the annular solar eclipse, which happens when the moon's apparent diameter is smaller than the sun.
Gujarat Science City had made elaborate arrangements for the solar eclipse. Since this was the longest eclipse of the millennium, special preparations were made in advance for its viewing so that maximum number of people could take advantage of the rare occasion.
The solar eclipse was visible partially at its peak in the city for 10.4 minutes. Students and teachers from places like Bhavnagar, Panchmahals and Palanpur viewed it despite the festive mood of Uttarayan. Female presence on the occasion was also quite high. "The number of people who came in to view the solar eclipse was very impressive. Such a large turnout at Science City has shown us the tremendous scope for the promotion and popularisation of science amongst young minds of the state," said Dr Narottam Sahoo, senior scientist, Science City.
Telescopes fitted with appropriate solar filters, solar image projectors, pin-hole camera, and solar filter goggles, NASA eclipse lenticulars were arranged to facilitate safe viewing of this celestial event among a large number of students and visitors.
The programme was open for public between 11.00 hrs to 15:30 hrs. The activity included live commentary and interaction by the scientists including Dr CM Nagrani, senior scientist of ISRO; Dr JR Trivedi, former scientist of PRL; and Dr JN Desai, former scientist of PRL; student scientific experiments, screening of eclipse films and presentations on the LED screen.
"The occasion was an opportunity for school and college students to contribute actively to scientific research — observations of contact timings at different locations along the eclipse path are useful in refining our knowledge of the orbital motions of the moon and earth, and sketches and photographs of the solar corona can be used to build a three-dimensional picture of the sun's extended atmosphere during the eclipse," said a scientist.
Ravi S Saxena, principal secretary, department of science and technology, was also present. "Eclipse is associated with despair, sadness and fear. When the sun and moon play the hide-and-seek game, the fear of demons take place. On the contrary, with the advancement of science and technology, eclipses are now the major subject of learning and researching. The turnout of people for the viewing of the eclipse is inspiring," said Saxena.
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