Eclipse
As even the most ignorant, illiterate creature may have known by now, we have a solar eclipse coming up tomorrow morning. The eclipse will begin in India from approximately, 05:31:13.6 AM and will last upto 07:14:12.6 AM. As we all know, the eclipse is making a buzz around the country; but we, keralites are not so lucky.
The sun be obscured by about 56% at its peek as seen from Kerala. We also have the threat from clouds which may completely screen this magnificent sight. Albeit longest, this isn’t the last eclipse that can be witnessed in this century. To be exact, the Solar eclipse of July 22 will last 6 minutes and 39 seconds, making it the longest eclipse yet to see in this century. The longest eclipse of this century was in 1973.
In my opinion, we keralites are going to be more blessed by the Eclipse of January 15, 2010. Although the eclipse will not be a total one, the sun will be obscured by about 82%, making it a prominent one. More important, the eclipse happens sometime around 11AM, making it easier to observe and perceive.
Here are a couple of links for both eclipses which contain in detail the duration and visibility of both the eclipses. Both links are for Cochin.
Local Circumstances of the Eclipse of July 22, 2009 and Animation of the Eclipse as viewed from Cochin
Local Circumstances of the Eclipse of January 15, 2010 and Animation of the Eclipse as viewed from Cochin
With the technical details done, lets get to the fun part. Superstitions. Some of them are my additions and some are I found elsewhere while scouring the World Wide Web. And mind you, apart from being ridiculous, most of them are downright laughable.
1. Do not eat anything tomorrow, as some freak astronomer is of the opinion that eclipse at sunrise is worse than Armageddon.
2. Never do any work during Eclipse (Thats cool !)
3. Avoid eating foods prepared before eclipse !
4. Postpone child births
5. Pregnant Women are to be kept inside a home !
I honestly don’t know why people still believe such stupidity. Even in this age of Science and Discovery, even in the 4th country to reach the Moon, even in the land of one of the most successful space agencies, these stupidities are tolerated and observed.
Oh, gosh !
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