Total solar eclipse 2024 today: Date, time, duration, visibility in India, impact on Aditya L-1 mission

The first Solar Eclipse of 2024 is set to occur on April 8, prior to the Hindu festival of Chaitra Navratri. The eclipse will start at 09:12 PM Indian standard time and continue till 2:22 AM on April 9. The solar eclipse will not be sighted in India. Though it will not be visible from India, parts of North America will experience a total eclipse, providing an opportunity for scientific research, particularly on the Sun's corona.

The total solar eclipse is a rare event that people across the USA and several events, from skydiving to special flights, are being organized to witness the celestial phenomenon. For the first time in almost a century, the western and northern parts of New York State will experience a total eclipse.

Depending on the weather conditions, the solar eclipse will also be visible in Mexico, 15 US states, and parts of eastern Canada. The total eclipse will have a path of totality over 100 miles wide. The duration of totality will be longer than the 2017 eclipse, lasting up to 4 minutes and 28 seconds.

NASA will broadcast the event live, providing views from various locations and expert analysis. During the 2024 eclipse, NASA will support several research projects to study the Sun and its influence on Earth.

Moreover, India's first space-based solar observatory Aditya L1 is continuously studying the Sun but will miss the total solar eclipse today that will be visible over vast swaths of North America. "Aditya L1 spacecraft will not see the solar eclipse as the moon is behind the spacecraft, at the Lagrange Point 1 (L1 point), the eclipse that is visible on Earth doesn't have much significance at that location," ISRO chairman S. Somanath told NDTV.

The Indian Aditya L1 spacecraft is placed in a halo orbit around the Lagrange point 1 (L1) of the Sun-Earth system, which is about 1. 5 million km from Earth.  A satellite placed in the halo orbit around the L1 point has the major advantage of continuously viewing the Sun without any occultation or eclipses.  

In regions where the eclipse is visible, safety measures such as wearing specialized solar viewing glasses and using indirect viewing techniques like pinhole projectors are recommended to prevent eye damage. It is also important to remember skin safety during an eclipse, with sunscreen, hats, and protective clothing recommended to protect from sunlight exposure.