Stargazers will have a chance today (Monday, December 14) to watch the only total solar eclipse of 2020 across a narrow swath of the South Pacific, Chile, Argentina and the southern Atlantic Ocean.
A partial eclipse will be also visible from a wider region in the Pacific, southern South America, and Antarctica.
According to Space.com, “the partial phase eclipse will first begin at 8:33 a.m. EST (1333 GMT) and be visible to observers way out in the Pacific Ocean, thousands of miles off the southeast coast of the Hawaiian Islands.”
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“The total phase of the eclipse will first be visible almost an hour later at 9:32 a.m. EST (1432 GMT).”
Solar Eclipse in Islam
Solar eclipse is the partial or total cutting off of the sun’s light when the moon comes between it and the earth.
Before Islam, people used to associate this unusual phenomenon with some superstitious reason. It happened that the sun eclipsed on the day the Prophet’s son Ibrahim died in Madinah, so some people attributed that to his death.
Hence, Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) took the opportunity to correct the people’s mistaken notion about the solar eclipse saying,
“The sun and the moon are two signs of Allah; they are not eclipsed on account of anyone’s death or on account of anyone’s birth. So when you see them, glorify and supplicate Allah, observe the Prayer, give alms.”