Solar Eclipse 2020 on Dec 14: 5 popular myths busted

New Delhi, Dec 11: Sky gazers across the world set to witness to its last Solar Eclipse or Surya Grahan on December 14. It is going to be a total solar eclipse, wherein the Sun will be totally covered by the shadow of the Moon during the eclipse.

The last solar eclipse of 2020 will be visible in southern South America, south-west Africa.

The celestial event would begin at 7.04 PM (IST) on December 14, the full eclipse will begin at 8:02 PM (IST) and reach its peak at 9:43 PM(IST) and end at 12:23 (AM) IST on December 15. The longest possible duration of totality would be 2 minutes and 10 seconds.

Like Lunar eclipse, there are also many superstitions that revolve around this solar eclipse or Surya Grahan, right from restricting consumption of food at a particular time to actually banning people from watching the celestial event live.

Even though we call it a Solar Eclipse, the sun is completely unaware of its occurrence. The sun is too big to be bothered about where the moon's shadow falls.

Is solar eclipse dangerous?

Firstly, there is no religious text that claims that eclipses are dangerous. No scriptures recommend hiding away during its occurrence. One should have more faith and understanding about the working of the universes and not be carried away by superstitions.

Does eclipse produce harmful rays that can cause blindness?

Unlike the common belief, the sun does not send any special radiation during the eclipse. During the astronomical event the brilliant corona emits only electromagnetic radiation, though sometimes with a greenish hue.

According to NASA, Being a million times fainter than the light from the sun itself, there is nothing in the coronal light that could cross 150 million kilometers of space ,penetrate our dense atmosphere, and cause blindness.

Is Solar Eclipse harmful during pregnancy?

There is also a popular belief that pregnant women should not watch an eclipse because it can harm the baby. However, the scientists say, the electromagnetic radiation from the corona, seen as light, is perfectly safe.

Does the Evil Eclipse turn food to poison?

It is a commonly heard myth that food and water should be avoided during the period that the solar eclipse is occurring. Scientists continuously shun the myth saying say it is perfectly safe to eat, drink and carry out daily activities during the eclipse. The only danger is when one views it with naked eyes.

Does solar eclipse bring bad omen?

Another belief, is that solar eclipse bring bad omen and considered harbingers of something very bad that is about to happen. Scientists have busted the myth calling it s Confirmation Bias - that we tend to remember all the occasions when two things happened together, but forget all of the other times when they did not.