UNIVERSITY
OF
Department of Mathematics
Solar-Eclipse Expeditions in Pakistan
Program Director: Professor Dr. Syed Arif Kamal
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The
2008-Partial-Solar Eclipse-Expedition
The 2006-Partial-Solar Eclipse-Expedition
The
1999-Total-Solar-Eclipse Expedition
The 1995-Total-Solar Eclipse-Expedition
The "News" International Report
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All the expeditions were headed by
Professor
Dr. Syed Arif Kamal.
The 2008-Partial-Solar-Eclipse
Expedition
The Partial-Solar Eclipse of
Friday, August 1, 2008
The partial-solar eclipse of Friday, August 1, 2008 was
observed by the University of Karachi Team to verify the effects observed
during the partial eclipse, which took place in 2006. The eclipse started at 1640h, with moon covering the sun
from the upper-right-hand side. At 1740h maximum coverage was achieved, with one-third of the
solar disk from the top obscured by moon. The moon, then started drifting
away towards left and made a complete exit from the upper-left side at 1826h.
No effects on temperature, wind pattern and bird behavior were observed, which
confirmed the findings of the 2006 Expedition.
The 2006-Partial-Solar-Eclipse Expedition
The Partial-Solar Eclipse of
Wednesday, March 29, 2006
The partial-solar eclipse of Wednesday, March 29, 2006
started at 1553h. The moon started covering the sun from the lower-right-hand
side. At 1635h maximum coverage was achieved, with one-third of the solar disk
from the right invidsible because of presence of moon. The moon, then started
drifting away towards top and made a complete exit from the upper-right side at
1720h. There were no effects of eclipse on temperature, wind pattern and bird
behavior, as opposed to the observations during the total expeditions of 1995
and 1999.
The 1999-Total-Solar-Eclipse Expedition
The Last-Total-Solar Eclipse of
the Second Millennium (Wednesday, August 11, 1999)
A team of University of Karachi
observed and studied last-total-solar-eclipse of the second millennium at the
University Campus on August 11, 1999. The eclipse started at 1618h (Pakistan
Standard Time). The moon started to cover the solar disk from the bottom right.
Totality was achieved at 1726h lasting for 73 seconds. At 1727h the moon
started drifting and the golden crescent started appearing from the bottom
right. The sun looked like a golden crescent during the partial solar eclipse.
The solar eclipse ended at 1827h. The weather was cloudy. However, a few good
glimpses of the sun were obtained through special goggles made from locally-available material. Although,
total eclipse could be observed from the naked eye (be, extremely, careful, if
you exercise this option, not to get involved in the view and forget to put on
back the protective glasses as soon as the partial phase reappears — failure to
do so may result in permanent damage to eye sight), total-UV-cutoff sunglasses
were worn during the observation of total phase as extra protection. As the
totality was being achieved, the birds become disoriented and a drop in the
ambient temperature was felt. During the totality planet Venus was observed
near the top left of the darkened solar disk. Head of this team also led the
Mathematics Department, University of Karachi Team, which observed the total
solar eclipse on October 24, 1995 at Kirani
Farms, Ahmadpur Sharqia, Punjab, Pakistan. Before
the start of eclipse our team organized educational programs in the Mathematics
Department to create interest in the phenomenon and warn people against
directly viewing the sun during the partial phase. The team confirmed violation
of Kepler’s
second law of planetary motion, first noticed during the 1995
Expedition.
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Weather was ideal for observations with a clear sky. |
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As the moon started to cover the surface of sun, birds became
disoriented. |
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As the moon proceeded to cover the entire surface there was a
sharp drop of temperature. The temperature becoming normal as soon as the
total eclipse ended. |
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As the totality was being achieved wind suddenly stopped. |
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The rooster gave its morning cry as the totality was being
achieved. |
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A star was observed on the sky during the total phase. |
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The diamond ring was seen during the total phase. There was a
greenish prominence present for a few seconds. |
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Seconds before the end of total darkness the black circle
changed into an ellipse of eccentricity 0.26 with its minor axis parallel to
the horizon. |
Extract from a paper "The planetary-orbit
modeling based on the astrodynamical coördinates" by Syed Arif Kamal
presented during the Pakistan Institute of Physics International Conference,
Government College, Lahore, Pakistan, 1997.
THE "News" International, Karachi: Text
of the Report — August 13, 1999 (Page 2)
Eclipse Makes
Eventful Revelations
by our
Correspondent
KARACHI. A team of academicians and their assistants
observed Venus in the sky during the 73-second period of total darkness
besides witnessing the violation of Kepler’s second law of planetary motion
in the form of variation in aerial velocity.
A team of scientists from the University of Karachi, headed by Associate
Professor of Mathematics Dr. Syed Arif Kamal, observed and studied last
solar eclipse of the second millennium from the campus. The team leader had
also led the Mathematics Department team, which observed the total solar
eclipse on October 24, 1995 at Kirani Farms, Ahmadpur Sharqia.
As per their observations, the diamond ring was seen during the total solar
eclipse with a greenish tinge for a few seconds. Seconds before the end of
total darkness, the black circle changed to an oval shape with the minor axis
parallel to the horizon and eccentricity 0.26.
The team, also, comprising of Assistant Professor of Physics Naseeruddin
and graduate students Aminuddin, Muhammad Ashar Hashmi and Nowsherwan,
after witnessing the rare event of a complete solar eclipse have put further
details on the Internet
A brief report, also, appeared in the "JANG"
(Karachi) on August 12, 1999 (page 10, column 5).
A research
paper describing the eclipses was published in 2018.
Image
Gallery
Head of the 2008-Partial-Solar-Eclipse Expedition observing the
eclipse
Sun covered by moon at the top on August 1, 2008
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Updated: February 1, 2023 (0000h UTC)
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