visibility. It then passed through Maldives. The annular eclipse at Malé, the capital city of the country, started at 12:20:17 and ended at 12:31:02 local time (UTC+5), lasting for 10 minutes and 45 seconds (645 seconds). This was also the longest duration of any eclipse with an international airport in its track. At approximately 13:20 IST, the annular solar eclipse entered India at Thiruvananthapuram (Trivandrum), the capital of Kerala and exited India at Rameswaram, Tamil Nadu. The eclipse was viewable for 10 minutes in India. After Rameswaram, it entered Sri Lanka at Delft Island, exited at Jaffna in Sri Lanka, crossed the Bay of Bengal and re-entered India in Mizoram. Thiruvananthapuram, which was the entry point of the eclipse in India, was equipped with telescopes and announced facilities for the public to view the eclipse. Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre, situated in Trivandrum, analysed the atmospheric-ionospheric parameters during the eclipse. Many scientists camped in the city to witness and study the eclipse. At Rameswaram, the sunrise was not visible due to thick clouds, but it started getting clear at around 9am local time and became almost totally clear by the time the eclipse began. The sky had a thin layer of cirrus clouds till 2:30pm. Among the eclipse-watchers was Sky Watchers' Association of North Bengal (SWAN) from Siliguri at the foothills of West Bengal and Tamil Nadu Astronomical Association. Dhanushkodi, which falls on the central line of the eclipse, was a good place to view the eclipse. The northernmost limit of shadow in India was Cuddalore, Neyveli, Erode, Kodaikanal, and Madurai. Other prime viewing locations in Tamil Nadu include Thoothukudi and Cape Comorin, 22 km north of the center line. The exact location of the line is between the NH end and the Dhanushkodi ruins. Dhanushkodi is about 2 km east of the central line. The degree difference is about 0.2 between the central line – with Kodandaramar Temple and Dhanushkodi ruins vice versa. Dhanushkodi is about 5 km from the Kodandaramar Temple. After South Asia, the antumbra passed through the southern tip of Bangladesh, Myanmar and China before leaving the Earth. Gallery Related eclipses Eclipses of 2010 An annular solar eclipse on January 15. A partial lunar eclipse on June 26. A total solar eclipse on July 11. A total lunar eclipse on December 21. Tzolkinex Preceded: Solar eclipse of December 4, 2002 Followed: Solar eclipse of February 26, 2017