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July 21 (Bloomberg) -- The longest full

July 21 (Bloomberg) -- The longest full solar eclipse this century, lasting 6 minutes and 39 seconds in some areas, will plunge cities, including Shanghai, into darkness as it passes over India and China tomorrow. Shanghai, China’s wealthiest city, will experience 5 minutes of darkness when the moon blocks out the sun at about 9:39 a.m. local time, according to the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration. A solar eclipse occurs when the moon’s orbit moves between the Earth and the sun so that the sun is fully or partially obstructed. “It’s certainly a buzz because it’s quite beautiful,” said David Thurley, 62, a retired environmental and waste water engineer who traveled from Albury in southeastern Australia to watch the event in the eastern Chinese city of Hangzhou. “It’s through this demonstration that we know how the solar system works and it’s there for all to see.” Thurley has seen two previous eclipses in Australia and Libya. Tomorrow’s eclipse is benefiting the tourism industries in China and India that have had fewer visitors because of the global recession and swine flu. The Park Hyatt Hotel on the 91st floor of the Shanghai World Financial Center, China’s tallest building, has fully booked its 2,830 yuan ($414) package for watching the eclipse that includes a night’s stay and champagne breakfast for two. China posted a 4.8 percent decline in visitor arrivals from a year earlier during the first five months of 2009, according to the China National Tourism Administration. India’s tourist arrivals fell 9.2 percent in the first six months of this year, according to the Ministry of Tourism. Indian Coast The eclipse will first be visible at about 5:28 a.m. local time on the western coast of India, before the shadow crosses the eastern states of Assam and Arunachal Pradesh, according to the Indian Meteorological Department. It will pass over the cities of Surat, Indore, Bhopal, Varanasi and Patna, according to NASA. Residents of Mumbai won’t get a view of a full eclipse as the path will move just north of the city, according to the U.S. space agency. A full eclipse will also be visible in parts of Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh and Myanmar before crossing into China, according to NASA. During an eclipse, Hindus offer prayers by visiting temples and turn containers of food and water upside down. Food left uncovered during the event is thrown out or given to beggars. Some Hindus don’t eat or drink during the eclipse and bar pregnant women from stepping outdoors, sewing or using knives. Many immerse themselves in water for cleansing. Scientific Basis “There is no scientific basis for the Indian belief that an eclipse is inauspicious,” said Harish Bhatt, dean of the Faculty of Academic Sciences of the Bangalore-based Institute of Astrophysics. “It is just the moon’s shadow on the Earth.” Such an event enables scientists to study the temperature of the sun’s gases and chemicals, Bhatt said. In China, the cities of Chengdu, Chongqing, Wuhan, Hefei, Hangzhou, Suzhou and Shanghai will experience a full eclipse, according to NASA. The ancient Chinese text, Records of the Grand Historian, written more than 2,000 years ago, describes eclipses as indicators of change. China’s State Council, the nation’s cabinet, issued a statement on July 18 calling on local governments to ensure social stability during the eclipse and to prevent the spread of superstition. The Park Hyatt Hotel in Shanghai has booked rooms for guests coming to view the event, as well as business travelers who have extended stays or are arriving early for the eclipse, said Lillian Zhang, the hotel’s public relations manager. Eclipses are “stunning and genuinely beautiful,” said Don Rankin, 47, who traveled from London to view the eclipse from Hangzhou with his 14-year-old son. “Whenever you see one, you just wonder when the next one is going to be.” Rankin began planning his trip to China nine months ago. It’ll be the fourth eclipse he’s witnessed. To contact the reporters on this story: John Liu in Shanghai at jliu42@bloomberg.net; Jay Shankar in Bangalore at Jshankar1@bloomberg.net Last Updated: July 20, 2009 20:25 EDT

The solar eclipse that will take place o

The solar eclipse that will take place on Wednesday, July 22, 2009 will be a total eclipse of the Sun. It will be the longest total solar eclipse of the 21st century, lasting at greatest eclipse 6 minutes, 39 seconds, it has sparked tourist interest in eastern China and India.[1][2][3]. The eclipse is part of series 136 in the Saros cycle, like the record setting Solar eclipse of July 11, 1991. The exceptional duration is a result of the moon being near perigee, with the diameter of the moon 8% larger than the sun (magnitude 1.080). 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. Contents [hide] * 1 Visibility * 2 Duration * 3 Urban legend * 4 References * 5 External links [edit] Visibility It 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. Totality will be visible in many large cities, including Surat, Vadodara, Bhopal, Varanasi, Patna, Dinajpur, Chengdu, Nanchong, Chongqing, Yichang, Jingzhou, Wuhan, Huanggang, Hefei, Hangzhou, Wuxi, Huzhou, Suzhou, Jiaxing, Ningbo and Shanghai, as well as over the Three Gorges Dam.[4][5] According to some experts, Taregana[6][7] in Bihar is the "best" place to view the event. A partial eclipse will be seen from the much broader path of the Moon's penumbra, including most of South East Asia (all of India and China) and north-eastern Oceania. [edit] Duration 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. [edit] Urban legend According to majority of scientists earthquakes are not caused by the moon or any event such as this, no matter how long the eclipse lasts or how significant it is from other eclipses. The moon's gravitational pull is only known to cause tides. In this instance also there is a high probability for a mild change in ocean tides during the eclipse which should not be mistaken for a Tsunami.[8] However, there has been an unendorsed earthquake prediction by a software developer who specializes in Computer Game physics and has posted an article on a blog post.[9] His statement is based on an existing theory by James O. Berkland[10] originally posted on National Geographic.[11] According to this speculation, the combined gravitational pull of sun and moon during the long total eclipse will cause a undersea tectonic uplift in south of Japan resulting a major tsunami. However, the author states that this is only a hypothesis and acknowledges that he is not qualified to make a formal prediction. The news is swiftly gaining attention worldwide as an electronic chain letter.[12] Mainstream scientists and media have already rejected this hypothesis stating that there is no credible evidence to prove any correlation between solar eclipses and earthquakes.[13][14][15] [edit] References 1. ^ http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-05/19/content_11402627.htm 2. ^ http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5ihVF0P6egD6R8AyynWO_Rm8ZZjKQ 3. ^ http://in.news.yahoo.com/43/20090717/860/ttc-indian-students-on-solar-eclipse-ody.html 4. ^ NASA - Total Solar Eclipse of 2009 July 22 5. ^ Weather conditions for cities in China during the July 22 eclipse (Chinese) 6. ^ http://in.news.yahoo.com/43/20090720/860/ttc-eclipse-gives-bihar-village-its-days.html 7. ^ http://www.news-relay.com/latest-news/longest-total-solar-eclipse-2009-nasa-declares-taregana-in-bihar-is-the-best-location/ 8. ^ http://oheraldo.in/pagedetails.asp?nid=24796&cid=2 9. ^ http://www.garagegames.com/community/blogs/view/15946 10. ^ http://www.syzygyjob.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=13&Itemid=27 11. ^ http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2005/05/0523_050523_moonquake_2.html 12. ^ http://urbanlegends.about.com/od/errata/ss/july_22_tsunami.htm 13. ^ http://www.pnsn.org/INFO_GENERAL/eq_prediction.html 14. ^ http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/422504/1/.html 15. ^ http://www.malaysianmirror.com/homedetail/45-home/4727-tsunami-email-a-hoax [edit] External links * NASA homepage for July 22, 2009 total solar eclipse * The 21st century’s longest total solar eclipse to be Internet broadcast worldwide * How To Watch July 22, 2009 Total Solar Eclipse Live On Web * Solar eclipse : All roads lead to Bihar * City of Brass at Beliefnet.com: The longest solar eclipse of the 21st century * Solar Eclipse Could Create Chaos AP