UPDATED ON 11th NOVEMBER 2009
The latest hot topic event is this solar eclipse.Here are some facts on this event.Source:http://en.wikipedia.org
Solar eclipse of July 22, 2009
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Solar eclipse of 22 July 2009 | |
|---|---|
 Total eclipse from Kurigram, Bangladesh | |
Global visibility chart. The eclipse began at sunrise eclipse on the left (India), and ended at sunset eclipse on the right (Pacific ocean)
| |
| Type of eclipse | |
| Gamma | 0.0696 |
| Magnitude | 1.0799 |
| Saros | 136 (37 of 71) |
| Maximum eclipse | |
| Duration | 398 s (6 min 38.8 s) |
| Location | Pacific Ocean |
| Coordinates | 24°12′36″N 144°06′24″E / 24.21°N 144.10667°E |
| Max. width of band | 258.4 km |
| Times (UTC) | |
| Partial eclipse begin | 23:58:18 (Jul 21) |
| Total eclipse begin | 00:51:16 |
| Central eclipse begin | 00:54:31 |
| Greatest eclipse | 02:35:21 |
| Central eclipse end | 04:16:13 |
| Partial eclipse end | 05:12:25 |
The solar eclipse of 22 July 2009 was the longest total solar eclipse during the 21st century, not to be surpassed until June 2132.[1] It lasted a maximum of 6 minutes and 39 seconds off the coast of Southeast Asia,[2] causing tourist interest in eastern China, Japan, India and Nepal.[2][3][4]
This was the second in the series of three eclipses in a one-month period, with two minor penumbral lunar eclipses, first on July 7 and last on August 6.
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[edit] Visibility
A partial eclipse was seen within the broad path of the Moon's penumbra, including most of Southeast Asia (all of India and China) and north-eastern Oceania.
The total eclipse was visible from a narrow corridor through northern Maldives, northern Pakistan, northern India, eastern Nepal, northern Bangladesh, Bhutan, northern Philippines, the northern tip of Myanmar, central China and the Pacific Ocean, including the Ryukyu Islands, Marshall Islands and Kiribati.
Totality was visible in many large cities, including Surat, Vadodara, Bhopal, Varanasi, Patna, Gaya, Dinajpur, Siliguri, Guwahati, Tawang in India and Chengdu, Nanchong, Chongqing, Yichang, Jingzhou, Wuhan, Huanggang, Hefei, Hangzhou, Wuxi, Huzhou, Suzhou, Jiaxing, Ningbo, Shanghai, Chapai Nawabganj as well as over the Three Gorges Dam in China.[5][6] According to NASA, the Japanese island Kitaio Jima was predicted to have the best viewing conditions [7][8] featuring both longer viewing time (being the closest point of land to the point of greatest eclipse) and lower cloud cover statistics than all of continental Asia.
[edit] Observations
Thousands of pilgrims gathered on the banks of the Ganges River in Varanasi, India to experience the eclipse as a religious or spiritual event. Some people expected that there would be a relationship, either positive or negative, between their health and the occurrence of the eclipse.[9]
Indian scientists observed the solar eclipse from an Indian Air Force plane.[10]
The Chinese government used the opportunity to provide scientific education and to dispel any superstition. Observers in Japan were excited by the prospect of experiencing the first eclipse in 46 years, but found the experience dampened by cloudy skies obscuring the view.[11]
Thousands of people of Bangladesh witnessed the longest total solar eclipses of the 21st century on Wednesday, 22 July, 2009 defying rain and a heavily overcast sky. Before this a "total solar eclipse observation committee" was formed with Bishwa Sahitya Kendra, Liberation War Museum, Chhayanaut's educational initiative Nalanda, Samannito Shikkha-Sangskriti, Bangladesh Nature Study and Conservation Union, and Cosmic Culture to observe the eclipse. Science initiative Discussion Project coordinated the committee, which set up the main observation camp at Madhupara village and another at the South Plaza of Jatiya Sangsad Bhaban in Dhaka. With the help of BRB Cable Industries Ltd, the committee also set up observation camps at Bell's Park in Barisal, Akimuddin Gronthagar in Chapai Nawabganj, science and technology university campuses in Syedpur and Gazipur, Jahangirnagar University and Araj Ali Matubbar library at Dania in Dhaka.[12][13][14] Akimudin Gronthagar arranged three camps to observe century's one and only solar eclipse of July 22, 2009. 99.56% totality was observed from main camp at Kamat Maath, Binodpur, Chapai Nawabganj. Totality started at 07:57:41BDT and end 3 minutes 44 seconds later. The other two camps were set up at Poddar Paar in Rajshahi and at railway's Dhar in Uttar, Dhaka.
[edit] Duration
This solar eclipse was the longest total solar eclipse to occur in the 21st century, and will not be surpassed in duration until 13 June 2132. Totality lasted for up to 6 minutes and 39 seconds, with the maximum eclipse occurring in the ocean at 02:35:21 UTC about 100 km south of the Bonin Islands, southeast of Japan. The uninhabited North Iwo Jima island was the landmass with totality time closest to maximum, while the closest inhabited point was Akusekijima, where the eclipse lasted 6 minutes and 26 seconds.[15]
The cruise ship Costa Classica was chartered specifically to view this eclipse and by viewing the eclipse at the point of maximum duration and cruising along the centerline during the event, duration was extended to 6 minutes, 42 seconds.[16]
The eclipse was part of Saros series 136, as was the solar eclipse of July 11, 1991, which was slightly longer, lasting up to 6 minutes 53 seconds (previous eclipses of the same saros series on June 30, 1973 and June 20, 1955, were longer, lasting 7 min 04 and 7 min 08, respectively). The next event from this series will be on August 2, 2027.[17] The exceptional duration was a result of the Moon being near perigee, with the apparent diameter of the Moon 8% larger than the Sun (magnitude 1.080) and the Earth being near aphelion[18] where the Sun appeared slightly smaller.
In contrast the annular solar eclipse of January 26, 2009 occurred near lunar apogee and 7% smaller apparent diameter to the sun. And the next solar eclipse of January 15, 2010 will also be annular, with the Moon 8.1% smaller than the Sun.
[edit] View from space
The Terrain Mapping Camera in the Chandrayaan-1 lunar mission was used to image the earth during the eclipse.[19]
 12:30 UT (pre-eclipse) |  1:30 UT |  Close up at 1:30 UT |
[edit] Related eclipses
[edit] Solar eclipses 2008-2011
This set of solar eclipses repeat approximately every 177 days and 4 hours at alternating nodes of the moon's orbit.
| Ascending node | Descending node | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saros | Map | Photo | Saros | Map | Photo | |
| 121 | 2008 February 7 Annular | 126 | 2008 August 1 Total |  Total from Russia | ||
| 131 | 2009 January 26 Annular | 136 | 2009 July 22 Total | Total from Bangladesh | ||
| 141 | 2010 January 15 Annular | 146 | 2010 July 11 Total | |||
| 151 | 2011 January 4 Partial (north) | 156 | 2011 July 1 Partial (south) | |||
| Partial solar eclipses on June 1, 2011 and November 25, 2011 occur on the next lunar year eclipse set. | ||||||
[edit] Saros series
This solar eclipse is a part of Saros cycle 136, repeating every 18 year, 11 days, containing 72 events. The series started with partial solar eclipse on Jun 14, 1360, and reached a first annular eclipse on September 8, 1504. It was a hybrid event from November 22, 1612, through January 17, 1703, and total eclipses from January 27, 1721 through May 13, 2496. The series ends at member 72 as a partial eclipse on July 30, 2622. The longest eclipse occured on June 20, 1955, with a maximum duration of totality was 7 minutes, 8 seconds. [21]
Series members 31-42 occur between 1901 and 2100:
| 31 | 32 | 33 |
|---|---|---|
 May 18, 1901 |  May 29, 1919 |  Jun 8, 1937 |
| 34 | 35 | 36 |
 Jun 20, 1955 |  Jun 30, 1973 |  Jul 11, 1991 |
| 37 | 38 | 39 |
Jul 22, 2009 |  Aug 2, 2027 |  Aug 12, 2045 |
| 40 | 41 | 42 |
 Aug. 24, 2063 |  Sep. 3, 2081 |  Sep. 14, 2099 |
[edit] Metonic cycle
The metonic series repeats eclipses every 19 years (6939.69 days), lasting about 5 cycles. Eclipses occur in nearly the same calendar date. In addition the octon subseries repeats 1/5 of that or every 3.8 years (1387.94 days).
This series has 21 eclipse events between July 22, 1971 and July 22, 2047:
| July 21-22 | May 9-11 | February 26-27 | Dececember 14-15 | October 2-3 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 116 | 118 | 120 | 122 | 124 |
 July 22, 1971 |  May 11, 1975 |  February 26, 1979 |  December 15, 1982 |  October 3, 1986 |
| 126 | 128 | 130 | 132 | 134 |
 July 22, 1990 |  May 10, 1994 |  February 26, 1998 |  December 14, 2001 |  October 3, 2005 |
| 136 | 138 | 140 | 142 | 144 |
July 22, 2009 |  May 10, 2013 |  February 26, 2017 |  December 14, 2020 |  October 2, 2024 |
| 146 | 148 | 150 | 152 | 154 |
 July 22, 2028 |  May 9, 2032 |  February 27, 2036 |  December 15, 2039 |  October 3, 2043 |
| 156 | ||||
 July 22, 2047 |
Here is a 6 minute long video of the solar eclipse:
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