Asom to witness solar eclipse

JORHAT, May 9: Asom to witness a rare total solar eclipse on July 22. The occurrence will be highly visible at the skies of Sivasagar and Dibrugarh districts of the State, predicted UN Deka, a prominent Astronomer and secretary of the Pragjyotish Amateur Astronomers’ Association, Guwahati, participating as the appointed speaker at a symposium titled ‘Popular talk on Astronomy and total solar eclipse’, held at HRH, the Prince of Wales Institute of Engineering and Technology, Jorhat, on the occasion of International Astronomy Year 2009. He also said that, the event will be very pleasurable and such sort of chock-full episode will subsequently re-occur at the back of 700 years next. However, such a happening of total solar eclipse to be occurred at Pakistan occupied Kashmir in 2034, the Astronomer added. The programme was also attended by Dr Chandrarekha Mahanta, lecturer of Cotton College, Guwahati, and Dr PG Rao, Director of North East Institute of Science and Technology (NEIST), Jorhat, inaugurated the programme. A visual show on light pollution requirement of dark sky and a tribute to “Kalpana Chawla”- Columbia Mission was also held in the meeting chaired by Hirendra Kumar Bhattacharya, Principal of the Prince of Wales Institute of Engineering and Technology. A sky observation programme through telescope was also there in the meeting held on the occasion where BC Bora, Scientific officer cum Curator of Guwahati Planetarium participated as the resource person. THE SENTINEL