Astronomy Club

The Chinese satellite "Longjiang-2" took a picture that shows the far side of the Moon, and behind it our beautiful planet, carrying life in the vast emptiness of Space.

IAC Eclipse Alert!

The next Annular Solar Eclipse will be visible in India on May 21, 2031 across several Indian Cities including *Kochi, Alappuzha, Chalakudy, Kottayam, Tiruvalla, Pathanamthitta, Painavu, Gudalur (Theni), Theni, Madurai, Ilaiyangudi, Karaikudi, and Vedaranyam.

See you there in 2031

*IAC Live! - Total Solar Eclipse - April 8, 2024!*

All of North America and Central America will experience a partial solar eclipse but only those within the path of totality, an approximately 115-mile (185-kilometer) wide route through Mexico, 15 U.S. States and Canada will be able to see the moon entirely cover the sun's disk.

*Partial eclipse begins* near Pu‘uali‘i, Hawaii at 06:27 a.m. local time (12:27 p.m. EDT, 1627 GMT).
*Total solar eclipse makes landfall:* Mazatlán, Sinaloa, Mexico at 9:51 a.m. local time (12:51 p.m. EDT, 16:51 GMT).
*First location to experience totality:* Mazatlán, Sinaloa, Mexico at 11:07 a.m. local time (2:07 p.m. EDT, 1807 GMT)
*First location to experience totality in the U.S.:* Near Florentino Ramos Colonia, Texas at 1:27 p.m. local time (2:27 p.m. EDT, 1827 GMT).
Eclipse leaves North America: The eclipse will depart land from the Atlantic coast of Newfoundland and Labrador. The total solar eclipse ended at 5:16 p.m. local time (3:46 p.m. EDT, 1946 GMT). With the partial eclipse phase ending at 6:18 p.m. local time (4:48 p.m. EDT, 2048 GMT).

On April 8, 2024, all of North America and Central America will experience a solar eclipse. For most of that region, the spectacle will be solely a partial solar eclipse, though of varying obscuration. Only within the path of totality, which is 100 to 123 miles (162 to 200 kilometers) wide, will a totally eclipsed sun be visible. That path will stretch from the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic Ocean. It will first make land in Mazatlán in Sinaloa, Mexico and cross Durango and Coahuila. Entering the U.S. at Texas, the path of totality then moves through Oklahoma, Arkansas, Missouri, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Michigan, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine. Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland in Canada will also experience totality.

As the path travels northeast the maximum duration of totality will lessen because the moon's distance to Earth changes. At Mexico's Pacific coast, 4 minutes 27 seconds of totality is possible. As the moon's shadow gets larger, the point of longest totality where viewers could see an eclipsed sun for 4 minutes 28 seconds will occur at Nazas near Durango, Mexico. After that point the moon's shadow lengthens and narrows, reducing to a maximum totality of 2 minutes 52 seconds as the path exits North America at Newfoundland.

The 2024 total solar eclipse is set to be a major event. Totality can last twice as long as in 2017, depending on the observer's location. It's also set to be the longest totality on land for over a decade, so expect eclipse-chasers from around the world to visit the path of totality.

As a bonus, the sun's corona during totality is expected to be huge. That's because the sun is close to solar maximum when it's most active during its 11 years solar cycle.

During totality, two planets will be visible. Venus will be very bright and shine 15º from the sun even before totality begins while dimmer Jupiter, 30º from the sun, will appear during totality.

As with all eclipses, it's important to be close to the center of the path of the moon's shadow if you want to experience as long a spectacle as possible. In practical terms that means avoiding the edges of the path of totality, where its length drastically reduces. Aiming for close to the centerline is wise, but there's no need to obsess about it. Besides, a clear sky remains the most important thing.

To safely view all of this event, you must use solar filters. Only those in the path of totality will briefly be able to remove them to see the sun's corona with their naked eyes. Those not in the path of totality must keep them on the entire time.

Everyone observing the partial phases of this eclipse and for those outside the path of totality, that's the entire event will need to wear solar eclipse glasses while cameras, telescopes and binoculars will need solar filters placed in front of their lenses.

After the total solar eclipse on April 8, 2024, the next total solar eclipse will occur on *Aug. 12, 2026* , when totality will be visible from Greenland, Iceland, the Atlantic Ocean and Spain. At the point of greatest eclipse close to Iceland, totality will last 2 minutes, 18 seconds. But there's a high chance of clouds near Greenland and Iceland, with the best chance of a clear sky in Spain, where totality will occur very low in the sky just before sunset.

For North America, the next total solar eclipses are:

*March 30, 2033* : in Alaska.
*Aug. 23, 2044* : in Canada and the U.S. (Montana, South Dakota, North Dakota).
*Aug.12, 2045* : U.S. (California, Nevada, Utah, Colorado, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Kansas, Texas, Arkansas, Missouri, Mississippi, Louisiana, Alabama, Georgia, Florida), Caribbean and South America.

Finally,
*All those in the Path of Totality,* Enjoy this Amazing Celestial Spectacle
*All those who are able to see partial solar eclipse,* Enjoy the Amazement of two worlds eclipsing each other
*And all those Who will not be able to see* . Dont be disheartened, See the Totality as it criss crosses North America Onilne...

*Where ever you are, Take Lots of Pics and Videos...!*
*Good Luck!*
Alay Pankaj Jhaveri
Astronomer, IAC

An Eclipsed Earth...

IAC photo of the Day...!
D1

I'm Search of the Milkyway Galaxy with a Torch...

What if you climbed up on a rock and discovered the Universe? You can. Although others have noted much of it before, you can locate for yourself stars, planets, and even the plane of our Milky Way Galaxy. All you need is a dark clear sky -- the rock is optional. If you have a camera, you can further image faint nebulas, galaxies, and long filaments of interstellar dust. If you can process digital images, you can bring out faint features, highlight specific colors, and merge foreground and background images.

In fact, an industrious astrophotographer has done all of these to create the presented picture. All of the component images were taken early last month on the same night within a few meters of each other. The picturesque setting was Sand Beach in Stonington, Maine, USA with the camera pointed south over Penobscot Bay.