Hi viewers and readers.I had a horrible problem during my Hari Raya holidays (19/9/2009-27/9/2009)until I had to delay my posts.The problem is MY COMPUTER BROKE!!!

It happened after my computer had a Windows Blue Screen Error or Blue Screen of Death(in short:BSOD).My computer's monitor couldn't detect signals after i restarted it to recover from the BSOD which means I cant see anything on the monitor as well as use the computer.Moreover,the whole thing turn on by itself after I press the main power switch without pressing the power button on the CPU.Luckily my brother came back university during the holidays.He helped and guided me in repairing the computer.We tried several methods.

Here is a chronological order of what we did to try to solve the problems:

1.Keep restarting the computer.

2.Clean the CPU of dust.

3.Change to various types of graphics cards.(The longest method we tried)Note:The graphics cards used were working fine on another computer)

4.Change the PSU(Power Supply Unit).

After the last method,the computer still can't work!My brother concluded that the motherboard is 'dead' so he went to my fathers cybercafe and ask for a working CPU.My brother and I had to transplant better computer parts from my old computer to the new one because some of them parts were weaker and others are not installed.There was a small problem with the new one though,which is that it can't support VGA cards.At the end,I'm now using a computer with the same power as the previous one but with a very downgraded graphics card.

Sigh...But at least i still have a working computer. :)

Well since that has been taken care of,I'll continue my studies for the upcoming PMR on 7th of October.Bye!

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 / 24.21; 144.10667
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

Crowds gather on the ghats for the eclipse in Varanasi, India

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

These identically scaled photos compare the apparent diameter of the full moon (near apogee) to the nearly new moon (visible by earthshine) on the day before the solar eclipse near lunar perigee.

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

Animation of eclipse path

The Terrain Mapping Camera in the Chandrayaan-1 lunar mission was used to image the earth during the eclipse.^[19]

It was also observed by the Japanese geostationary satellite MTSAT:^[20]

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.

Solar eclipse series sets from 2008–2011
Saros	Map	Saros	Map	Photo
Ascending node		Descending node
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