A solar eclipse that will take place on Wednesday, July 22, 2009 will be a total eclipse of the Sun with a magnitude of 1.080 that will be visible from a narrow corridor through northern India, eastern Nepal, northern Bangladesh, Bhutan, the northern tip of Myanmar, central China and the Pacific Ocean, including the Ryukyu Islands, Marshall Islands and Kiribati. China will be the only country where this solar eclipse can be seen in its totality. Totality will be visible in many Chinese cities such as Chengdu, Chongqing, Wuhan, Hangzhou and Shanghai, as well as over the Three Gorges Dam. A partial eclipse will be seen from the much broader path of the Moon's penumbra, including most of South East Asia and north-eastern Oceania. The eclipse is part of series 136 in the Saros cycle, like the record setting Solar eclipse of July 11, 1991
This is second in the series of three eclipses in a month. There was a lunar eclipse on July 7 and now a solar eclipse on July 22 and then a lunar eclipse on August 6.
This solar eclipse is the longest total solar eclipse that will occur in the twenty-first century, and will not be surpassed in duration until June 13, 2132. Totality will last 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 North Iwo Jima island is the landmass with totality time closest to maximum.
National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) affirmed after its two decades of Research that Taregana, a place 25 km from Patna in India, is the best location on earth to watch the Total Clear Solar Eclipse on July 22, 2009.
Earthquake and Tsunami Prediction
There has been an earthquake prediction by a software developer who specializes in Computer Game physics and has posted an article on a blog post. His statement is based on an existing theory by James O. Berkland originally posted on National Geographic. According to this speculation, the long total eclipse will cause a undersea Tectonic uplift in south of Japan resulting a major Tsunami . However, the author claims that this is only a theory and acknowledges that he is not qualified to make a formal prediction. The news is swiftly gaining attention worldwide as an electronic chain letter. Mainstream scientists and media have already rejected this hypothesis stating that there is no credible evidence to prove any relationship between solar eclipses and earthquakes.
Solar eclipse of July 22, 2009
Sky gazers await for the longest total solar eclipse of the 21st century on July 22 as it will provide a rare opportunity to witness the grand event for the people in west, central, east and north-east India.
A total eclipse occurs when the Sun is completely obscured by the Moon. The intensely bright disk of the Sun is replaced by the dark silhouette of the Moon, SPACE President C B Devgun said.
During the total eclipse, totality is visible only from a narrow track on the surface of the Earth.
The countries to witness the path of the Moon's umbral shadow are India and Nepal, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Myanmar and China.
In India, the shadow sweeps over the cities of Surat, Indore, Bhopal, Varanasi and Patna. Travelling across Bhutan, the eclipse will be visible in Nepal, Bangladesh, and Burma (Myanmar), before reaching China at 06:35 IST, he said.
China's largest city Shanghai will experience the total solar eclipse for five minutes, he said, adding across the East China Sea, the eclipse will sweep over Japan's Ryukyu Islands and Iwo Jima.
