Watch live: Solar Eclipse begins, casts shadow across several parts of the world

The last solar eclipse of this year has started in India, which will be visible in a couple of states at different timings. The solar eclipse started at 4.40 pm and will continue till 6.09 pm in India. According to Space.com, a solar eclipse takes place when the moon gets between Earth and the sun, and the moon casts a shadow over Earth. A solar eclipse can only take place during the phase of the new moon, when the moon passes directly between the sun and Earth and its shadows fall upon Earth’s surface. 

Besides India, the eclipse will be visible globally in parts of Europe, Northern Africa, and parts of western and central Asia. In India, the celestial phenomenon will be sighted across Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Ujjain, Varanasi, Bengaluru, and Mathura. Due to the eclipse, Govardhan Puja, which is observed a day after Diwali,  will be celebrated tomorrow on October 26, and Bhaiya Dooj or Bhai Phonta on October 27.  

Who all can see the eclipse in India 

In India, the eclipse started from 04:29 pm and will end with the sunset at 05:42 pm. The maximum eclipse time will be at 05:30 pm. 

The partial eclipse will continue for 1 hour and 45 minutes in total. It will be longest in Dwarka, Gujarat, for 1 hour and 45 minutes, and the shortest in Kolkata for only 12 minutes. A few other cities that will witness the Surya Grahan longer than an hour are New Delhi, Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Surat, Pune, Jaipur, Indore, Thane, Bhopal, Ludhiana, Agra, Chandigarh, Ujjain, Mathura, Porbandar, Gandhinagar, Silvasa, Surat, and Panaji. 

The states where the eclipse will be visible for less than an hour are Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Lucknow, Kanpur, Nagpur, Visakhapatnam, Patna, Mangaluru, Coimbatore, Ooty, Varanasi, and Thiruvananthapuram. However, the eclipse will not be visible from Aizawl, Dibrugarh, Imphal, Itanagar, Kohima, Silchar, and Andaman & Nicobar Island.