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Tomorrow we have the longest solar eclipse of the century: Watch out

Jul 21, 2009 18:35

A list of Asia countries that will witness the longest solar eclipse of the century are India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Myanmar and China. A tenacious wait for all skygazers to view an extraordinary celestial event will take place in a few hours from now, when most of us will stand witness to the longest total solar eclipse of the 21st century.

A total eclipse happens as the Sun is totally obscured by the Moon. The intensely bright disc of the Sun is superseded by the darkness of the Moon. During the total eclipse's totality, the Sun is visible merely by a limited track on the Earth's surface. The Indian cities through which the darkness of the total eclipse will fall on are Bhavnagar, Surat, Ujjain, Indore, Bhopal, Sagar, Jabalpur, Varanasi, Allahabad, Gaya, Patna, Bhagalpur, Jalpaigudi, Guwahati and Dibrugarh--mostly the northern parts of the subcontinent.

Also, China's biggest metropolis Shanghai will undergo a total solar eclipse for 5 minutes, while across the East China Sea, the eclipse will drag past Japan's Ryukyu Islands and Iwo Jima. Subsequently leaving mainland Asia, the path of the eclipse will curve southeast through the Pacific Ocean where the highest length of totality will be 6 mins 38 secs, as estimated by scientists.

However, a partial eclipse will be seen inside the much broader path of the Moon's penumbral shadow, which includes almost all parts of eastern Asia, Indonesia, and the Pacific Ocean.

Tomorrow's solar eclipse will constitute the most lasting total solar eclipse in the 21st century and won't be exceeded in duration until June 13, 2132. The following total solar eclipse will be on July 11, 2010, which can be seen in the South Pacific, Chile and Argentina.

So get your solar film glasses and head out early in the morning!

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