Solar Eclipse

[Guest ShaQuaNew]

NANJING, June 13 (Xinhua) -- China will see the longest total solar eclipse in 500 years on July 22, a scientist said Saturday.

 

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.

 

He said viewers in parts of 11 provinces in China's southwestern, central-southern and eastern areas, such as Tibet, Hunan and Jiangsu, will be able to witness the total solar eclipse, while in most parts of Shanghai, viewers can see the spectacular phenomenon.

 

For viewers in other provinces, including Beijing, they can observe a partial eclipse, he said.

 

A solar eclipse occurs when the moon is caught between the sun and the earth while each of them moves along their fixed orbits.

 

In a total solar eclipse, the sun, the moon and the earth are directly aligned as the sun swings into the cone of shadow cast by the moon.

 

Wang said the next total solar eclipse that can be seen in China will fall on March 20, 2034.

 

"But it can only be seen remote provinces, such as Tibet and Qinghai. It cannot not be compared with the upcoming one -- in terms of duration and number of cities that can see the eclipse," he added.

 

The last total solar eclipse visible in China took place on Aug. 1 last year. It was observed in northwest China and lasted two minutes in Yiwu County of northwestern Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, the best place to see the phenomenon.

 

This should be quite impressive.

Edited July 16, 2009 by ShaQuaNew (see edit history)

[timb]

I'll be in Beijing at that time, so perhaps I'll get to see a partial. Hmm. Can you really see the sun in Beijing?

 

 

 

 

NANJING, June 13 (Xinhua) -- China will see the longest total solar eclipse in 500 years on July 22, a scientist said Saturday.

 

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.

 

He said viewers in parts of 11 provinces in China's southwestern, central-southern and eastern areas, such as Tibet, Hunan and Jiangsu, will be able to witness the total solar eclipse, while in most parts of Shanghai, viewers can see the spectacular phenomenon.

 

For viewers in other provinces, including Beijing, they can observe a partial eclipse, he said.

 

A solar eclipse occurs when the moon is caught between the sun and the earth while each of them moves along their fixed orbits.

 

In a total solar eclipse, the sun, the moon and the earth are directly aligned as the sun swings into the cone of shadow cast by the moon.

 

Wang said the next total solar eclipse that can be seen in China will fall on March 20, 2034.

 

"But it can only be seen remote provinces, such as Tibet and Qinghai. It cannot not be compared with the upcoming one -- in terms of duration and number of cities that can see the eclipse," he added.

 

The last total solar eclipse visible in China took place on Aug. 1 last year. It was observed in northwest China and lasted two minutes in Yiwu County of northwestern Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, the best place to see the phenomenon.

 

This should be quite impressive.

In the right location you can see Baley's beads. Quite a sight.

[Dennis143]

NANJING, June 13 (Xinhua) -- China will see the longest total solar eclipse in 500 years on July 22, a scientist said Saturday.

 

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.

 

He said viewers in parts of 11 provinces in China's southwestern, central-southern and eastern areas, such as Tibet, Hunan and Jiangsu, will be able to witness the total solar eclipse, while in most parts of Shanghai, viewers can see the spectacular phenomenon.

 

For viewers in other provinces, including Beijing, they can observe a partial eclipse, he said.

 

A solar eclipse occurs when the moon is caught between the sun and the earth while each of them moves along their fixed orbits.

 

In a total solar eclipse, the sun, the moon and the earth are directly aligned as the sun swings into the cone of shadow cast by the moon.

 

Wang said the next total solar eclipse that can be seen in China will fall on March 20, 2034.

 

"But it can only be seen remote provinces, such as Tibet and Qinghai. It cannot not be compared with the upcoming one -- in terms of duration and number of cities that can see the eclipse," he added.

 

The last total solar eclipse visible in China took place on Aug. 1 last year. It was observed in northwest China and lasted two minutes in Yiwu County of northwestern Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, the best place to see the phenomenon.

 

This should be quite impressive.

In the right location you can see Baley's beads. Quite a sight.

For those too lazy to google:

 

ECLIPSE - BAILEY'S BEADS

http://i26.tinypic.com/20ztxld.jpg

http://www.crystalinks.com/bailysbeads.html

[hankster]

http://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/SEmono/TSE2009/TSE2009iau/TSE2009-fig03.GIF

[Guest ShaQuaNew]

GaoChun, China--Total Solar Eclipse, 7-22-2009....it got so dark....and....

 

8:41AM

http://i30.tinypic.com/286v33o.jpg

 

8:45AM

http://i26.tinypic.com/20p7mhi.jpg

 

8:51AM

http://i31.tinypic.com/10hlp9y.jpg

 

9:07AM

http://i29.tinypic.com/rcj0j7.jpg

Edited July 22, 2009 by ShaQuaNew (see edit history)

[Guest ShaQuaNew]

9:30AM

http://i28.tinypic.com/2jaeqlg.jpg

 

9:48AM

http://i32.tinypic.com/xawc28.jpg

 

9:51AM

http://i32.tinypic.com/1zebj9z.jpg

 

9:51AM

http://i30.tinypic.com/24x3ml1.jpg

Edited July 22, 2009 by ShaQuaNew (see edit history)

[knloregon]

Wow, SQN,

 

Looking at the 9:51 shot---I can see why past populations thought it was Judgement Day.... Maybe even more terrifying if you can't see the sun..

[dnoblett]

Great pictures!

[Tony_onrock]

Shanghai rained and chengdu rained, I had to be at one of these two cities today. Could not book a flight (all booked) that would put me above the clouds at the me it happened. Well, it went dark for just a few minutes. Then light again.

[Guest ShaQuaNew]

Great pictures!

 

Thanks Dan....

[Guest ShaQuaNew]

Wow, SQN,

 

Looking at the 9:51 shot---I can see why past populations thought it was Judgement Day.... Maybe even more terrifying if you can't see the sun..

 

I was thinking about that as it was getting dark. Unfortunately the weather didn't cooperate after the sun was about one-half obscurred. It was eerie to see just how quickly and dark it gets.

[Guest ShaQuaNew]

Wow, SQN,

 

Looking at the 9:51 shot---I can see why past populations thought it was Judgement Day.... Maybe even more terrifying if you can't see the sun..

It's bizarre. Like I mentioned earlier, street lights come on; it gets dark as midnight; birds stop singing; chickens go to sleep; all the 'nighttime' things occur in a very short period of time. I did get to experience one a lot of years ago and it is unforgettable.

 

 

There were birds all over the place when we got into town, and didn't see a single bird for over an hour after the darkness began to lift.

[timb]

Here is one of the photos I grabbed from Beijing.

Solar Eclipse From Beijing

 

http://gallery.me.com/iamtimbabb/100077/eclipse/web.jpg

Edited July 23, 2009 by timb (see edit history)