Solar Eclipse 2020: Vaishno Devi temple to remain closed due to Surya Grahan

Katra: The Maa Vaishno Devi temple will remain closed for devotees till June 21 afternoon and will have its famous morning Aarti at 2:20 PM due to the occurrence of the Solar Eclipse.

The daily morning aarti is usually performed in the morning at 6:20 am, but due to solar eclipse on Sunday, the divine aarti will be held after the Surya Grahan ends at 2:20 PM. 

The priest of the famous Shiva Darshan temple in Katra, Shri Suresh Sharma said that although the solar eclipse will start at 9:15 am and end at 1:48 pm on Sunday in the other parts of the country, but here in Jammu and Kashmir, the solar eclipse's 'sootak' will start at 9:15 pm on Saturday (June 20) and the Surya Grahan will start at 10:48 am on Sunday morning, which will end at 2:05 pm. 

All the other major temples of Katra will also remain closed till 2:20 pm on June 21. 

For those who don't know, a solar eclipse occurs on a new moon day when the Moon comes in between the Earth and the Sun and when all the three objects are aligned.

An annular solar eclipse will occur when the angular diameter of the Moon falls short of that of the Sun so that it cannot cover up the latter completely. As a result, a ring of the Sun’s disk remains visible around the Moon.