On Boxing Day the skies will go dark across Thailand – solar eclipse
The skies will go dark in Thailand around midday on Boxing Day. The sun will partly vanish and a ghostly pall will shadow the Kingdom. But it’s all good. It’s a solar eclipse, a completely natural phenomenon.
The Nation reports that viewing spots have been prepared in Chachoengsao province, east of Bangkok, in Chiang Mai province in the north, Nakhon Ratchasima in the north-east, and Songkhla province in southern Thailand. But you will able to experience the relatively rare phenomenon anywhere in a band from India and across south east Asia on the same day.
CAUTION: Looking at the sun directly and without proper equipment is dangerous and can cause blindness. Read more, along with some guidelines for viewing, HERE.
The National Astronomical Research Institute of Thailand is inviting over 400 schools that are members of its astronomy network to arrange for students to watch the phenomenon. The chosen locations are Princess Sirindhorn Astropark in Chiang Mai, the Chachoengsao Northeastern Regional Observatory, along with the Regional Observatory for the Public in Nakhon Ratchasima and in Songkhla. Entrance is free at each of the viewing sites. The skies will be darkest, as a result of the solar eclipse, at around 12.18pm.
Members of the institute along with other officials will be present at each location, providing assistance and viewing devices from 9am.
While Singapore, Sri Lanka, India and Indonesia will all enjoy a full solar eclipse, Thailand will experience a partial one, whereby the moon only partly obscures the sun. In Bangkok, the sun will be obscured by 56%, and by 40% in the Mae Sai district of Chiang Mai. However, Yala will witness the most impressive spectacle, with the moon set to eclipse 81% of the sun in the southern city.
If it’s a cloudy day you won’t be able to witness the moon’s shadow over the front of the sun but you will still notice that everything goes darker. The further south in Thailand, the darker it will get.
More information is available at timanddate.com
Interesting fact: A solar eclipse always occurs about two weeks before or after a lunar eclipse. Usually, there are two eclipses in a row, but other times, there are three during the same eclipse season.
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