Last solar eclipse of 2020 to be observed today: PMD

The last solar eclipse of the year 2020 will take place on Monday, the Pakistan Meteorological Department (PDM) said in a statement.

However, the solar eclipse will not be visible in Pakistan and the South Asian region.

As per the PMD, the eclipse will start at 6:34 pm Pakistan Standard Time (PST) and end at 11:53 pm.

The eclipse will first appear in South American countries, Chile and Argentina. It will also be visible in South Africa and the Atlantic and Indian Ocean regions as well as at the Antarctica.

A solar eclipse occurs about two weeks before or after a lunar eclipse, when the Moon moves into Earth’s shadow. Lunar eclipses are visible from about half of the Earth’s surface.

On June 21 this year, an annular solar eclipse occurred which was also visible in some cities of Pakistan.

Annular eclipses occur when the Moon — passing between Earth and the Sun — is not quite close enough to our planet to completely obscure sunlight, leaving a thin ring of the solar disc visible.

They occur every year or two, and can only be seen from a narrow pathway across the planet.

The last lunar eclipse, which was also not visible in Pakistan, was witnessed in other parts of the world on November 30.