A solar eclipse takes place when the Moon moves between the Sun and the Earth, blocking out the Sun from the areas on the Earth where the Moon's shadow falls. Depending on where one is located, the Sun appears to be fully or partially covered. When fully covered, it is called total solar eclipse. It will be the first total solar eclipse of 21st century that will be visible from India. It will also be of the longest duration.
We are witnessing an interesting astronomical event. There was a lunar eclipse on July 7, 2009. Then we will have a solar eclipse on July 22, 2009. And another lunar eclipse on August 6, 2009. The eclipse will began at 5:28 am, when the shadow of the moon touches the Earth at local sunrise at a point in the Arabian Sea close to the western coast of India. The eclipse ends at l0:42 am, when Moon's shadow finally leaves the Earth at local sunset at a point in the South Pacific Ocean.
China will see the longest total solar eclipse in 500 years on July 22. The prime time of the total eclipse was expected to begin from 9 a.m. to 9:38 a.m. (Beijing Time), said Wang Sichao, a research fellow with the Nanjing-based Purple Mountain Observatory under the Chinese Academy of Sciences.
"The total eclipse will last up to six minutes, or the longest one that can be seen in China in almost 500 years from 1814 to 2309," Wang said.
To view an eclipse directly, observers must use a filter designed for this purpose. Such filters can be purchased at large home appliance stores and elsewhere, but observers should still be careful as there is also a danger of heat stroke if you watch the eclipse for an extended period
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