Post by Paddy by Grace on Jul 22, 2009 21:26:44 GMT -7
[NOTE: Occuring July 21-(22); second of three, each happening on the 1st of Av, the beginning of the "Dire Straights" -(There are also two lunar eclipses overlapping a 30 day period at this time) .]
www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/china/5874449/Asia-prepares-for-longest-solar-eclipse.html
Streams of amateur stargazers and scientists are travelling long distances to witness the once-in-a-lifetime event.
Astronomers hope the eclipse will unlock clues about the sun, while an astrologer in Burma predicts that it could usher in chaos.
Some in India are advising pregnant relatives to stay indoors to follow a centuries-old tradition of avoiding the sun's invisible rays.
The eclipse will appear first at dawn in India's Gulf of Khambhat just north of the metropolis of Mumbai.
It will move east across India, Nepal, Burma, Bangladesh, Bhutan and China before hitting the Pacific. The eclipse will cross some southern Japanese islands and be last visible from land at Nikumaroro Island in the South Pacific nation of Kiribati.
Elsewhere, a partial eclipse will be visible in much of Asia.
For astronomers, it will be a chance for a prolonged view of the sun's corona, a white ring 600,000 miles (one million kilometres) from the sun's surface.
The previous total eclipse, in August 2008, was two minutes and 27 seconds. This one will last six minutes and 39 seconds at its maximum geographical point.