Astronomical events have captivated mankind for thousands of years, records have been found in the earliest human societies, and the excitement and wonderment don’t halt even today. Many archaeological sites have been found to have records of the transit of the moon at the sun. All over the world, amateur astronomers, professional observatories, and space agencies do observe and record this event, with great gatherings and celebrations.
Pakistan lies in the Global North, and several of its bigger cities do have local astronomy societies organizing and observing celestial events. The partial eclipse was visible in the country, beginning at 13.58 PST and ending at 18.02 PST, with the highest magnitude (0.500) occurring at 17.01 PST, covering around 51% of the Sun, visible from its most prominent city “Karachi” (According to Timeanddate.com).
In this article, we have compiled and presented all the observations, taken from all over the country, showing a variety of captures, recording the beauty of the Partial Solar Eclipse held on 25 October 2022.
To mark this event, the Insitute of Space Sciences and Technology- University of Karachi, organized the biggest event in the country at their Observatory, where they used “Meade LX-200 (16-inch) and Sky-Watcher (8-inch) telescopes to take the observations under the supervision of Dr. Prof. Jawed Iqbal.
This photo was captured using the Meade LX-200 (16-inch) Telescope mounted at the ISST Observatory. The photo also has two identified Sun Spots, 3131 and 3126. (Catalogued By/Credits: Yazdan Zuhad)
Director ISST – Dr. Prof Jawed Iqbal’s sharing the exciting reasons behind the phenomenon of the Solar Eclipse Event with the KU Times. (Credits: ISST)
Ayesha Mujtaba, giving an interview to the Hum News – discusses her aspirations in the field of Astrophysics; she is currently a master’s student at the ISST. (Credits: ISST)
Photo of Mr. Yazdan Zuhad (M.Phil Scholar in Astronomy) helping Hamas Ahmed (Undergraduate) to capture an Image of the eclipse. (Credit: ISST)
A group of students of M.Sc (Astrophysics) made observations through the Sky-Watcher (8 inches) installed at the ISST Observatory. (Credit: ISST)
An aerial view of the participants at the Partial Solar Eclipse Event organized by the ISST. (Credit: ISST)
Meade LX-200 (16 inches) is one of the largest optical telescopes in the country, which is installed at the Observatory of ISST. (Credit: ISST)
Photo of some students after observing the Eclipse from the dome of the ISST Observatory. (Credit: ISST)
The entire event of the Solar Eclipse was live through Facebook and other social media platforms of the ISST for the first time. (Credit: ISST)
Another photo taken by a student shows the mesmerizing glow of our star – Semi-hided by our Moon. (Image Credit: Maheen Mansoor)
Here, we can also see the captivating captures posted by the Karachi Astronomers Society’s Group. The entire community of amateur astronomers and enthusiasts were talking about the event in the group.
The photo is highly detailed; it also shows the features of the sun – amazing the few active sunspots if we look at it carefully. (Credit: Muhammad Mehdi Hussein – President KAS & Founder Mareekh Dynamics)
Another photo of the event, captured by the Karachi Astronomers Society at the Clifton Beach of Karachi, shows the transiting of a bird above the moon, which is transiting the sun, capturing the beauty of nature and leaving the viewer in awe. (Credit: Muhammad Mehdi Hussain – KAS President)
Another photo of the Solar event captured from the Taqwa Observatory, Balochistan, shared by Moiz Ahmed, an astrophysicist from Karachi. (Credit: Taqwa Space Observatory)
Another beautiful image by an Astrophotographer from the River of Jehlum, Punjab. (Credit: Muhammad Ibraheem – IG: @milky_astrophile
Another photo was shared by Dr Farrukh Shahzad in the group of Pak Astronomers Society.
A timely series of the entire solar event, capturing all the phases of the Partial Solar Eclipse, by a team of Astronomers at the ISST. (Credits are mentioned within the photo)
One of the most energetic and lovely photos of future astronomers from Lahore observing the event.
Kids from the Zaawiya Trust School watching the event safely through solar viewers/glasses. The Kainaat Studio arranged the session, which has also started Astronomy Clubs in Lahore, Pakistan, to educate and encourage students about the field of Astronomy. (Image Credit: Prof. Dr. Salman Hameed – Founder Kainaat Studious & Professor of Astronomy at the Hampshire College).
In the end, we would like to include the mini-catalogue called “Image of the Week” shared by Roshaan Bukhari, uniting the captures from all over the country, creating a moment of pride for all the astronomy enthusiasts, uniting their passion for science and outreach. (Image Credits: LAHORE ASTRONOMERS SOCIETY)
Fouz Siddiqui is a writer, academic and scientific management person. Presently, he is a Co-founder and Chief Information Officer at Scientia Magazine. As CIO, he oversees the implementation and strategization of Scientia’s technological and scientific vision. Concurrently, In academia, he holds a Lecturer and QM position at ATH – IST. As an academic, his research interests are Exoplanetary Sciences within Astronomy. Furthermore, he also works with Kainaat Studios, as its Manager of Science Outreach.
