* solar eclipse
Posted on July 22nd, 2009 by Alex. Filed under India.
Today a friend and I went to Nandi Hills by bike to see the solar eclipse which was supposed to be the longest in this century. Although we are way to much south to see a total eclipse, even a coverage of 50% is worth to see. The eclipse started at around 6:13am, but sunrise itself was only 10 minutes earlier. To maximize our chances to see the sun without any obstacles like trees or high buildings in the way, we went to Nandi Hills (around 60km north of Bangalore). So we got up at 3:30am and reached there at 5:10am. However due to the heavy winds, the peak of Nandi Hills was covered in clouds which was proven to be very much glued to the peak. It was so foggy that the side boundaries of the street were barely visible and it started to rain. So we went back to the foot of the Hills. But unfortunately high clouds did not give way to allow us to see the event.
After coming back to Bangalore, friends, who dropped out due the lack of a bike/license or who were in the need of an undisturbed sleep so early in the morning, felt lots of schadenfreude towards us. But next time we are going to see the most beautiful solar eclipse and we will take breathtaking photos. Well, we have to wait a bit. The next solar eclipse in the same length will not happen before 2132. But then the joy will be ours. 
