If you are in India and you miss the solar eclipse on July 22, 2009, you will have to wait for 105 years to see the next one.
"The next time this sort of a total solar eclipse passing the main land of India will happen in 2114 AD -- that is 105 years later and most of the people around now will not be there to see it," said D P Duari, Director, Birla Planetarium.
One of the biggest concerns about viewing the eclipse is that monsoon clouds may get in the way. So stargazers have studied cloud patterns of the last 10 years and fixed Patna as the safest location.
"Scientists have drawn a graph based on last 10 years' cloud statistics. And they have found that the probability of cloud cover only near and around Patna is 60 to 62 per cent. That 60 to 62 per cent is making people go in droves, in thousands, scientists and general people are converging on Patna," Duari said.
However, there is a word of warning from scientists -- don't look at the eclipse with the naked eye. Use proper solar filters or a welder's glass number 14. You can look at the sun directly only when the moon has completely covered it.
