The Asian Solar Eclipse July 22, 2009

On July 22, 2009 at 9:35am Bei Jing time, thousands of spectators are gathered to watch a solar eclipse. This eclipse is supposedly going to be the most spectacular one in ages. The spectators have already heard about the eclipse as it passed through different regions of Asia. Then finally, they see the moon cover the sun in darkness as thousands of stunned faces simply stare. The eclipse would stay there for several minutes before finally light would give in and bring cheer to the citizens.

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This picture shows the eclipse as it passes through the sun. Something that happens every hundred year or so.

First of all, this solar eclipse is the longest eclipse since 1991 when an eclipse lasted 6 minutes and 53 seconds and was seen in Hawaii and South America. Scientists predict that this will be the longest solar eclipse in the 21st century. In fact, another eclipse this long will not happen until 2131. In addition, the eclipse could be seen my more then 250 kilometers of land at a time either in full eclipse or partial eclipse. The maximum duration of the eclipse was well over 6 and a half minutes.

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A map of the route of the Solar eclipse that happened. The eclipse started in Asia and crossed the Pacific Ocean.

However, this is not the first solar eclipse that ever happened. Ever since the moon was born, it has been covering the earth with darkness ever so rarely. So what is a solar eclipse exactly? Well for starters, it is when the moon goes in front of the earth and blocks sunlight from traveling onto the earth. Simple right? Then why do we not have a solar eclipse every month? It takes that long of a time for the moon to travel around the earth once. The reason is that earth’s rotation around the sun has a 5-degree difference in tilt compared to the orbit of the moon traveling around the sun. Even so, solar eclipses are still quite common. Why does this solar eclipse get the attention of the media? Well there are many answers for this.

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Some of the millions of spectators watching the solar eclipse. Perhaps the last one this great for anyone of them to see.

Therefore, for the people of Asia, the solar eclipse of 2009 was a true marvel. For the people who heard about it on the other part of the world, it was a true regret. For anyone who has even watched it on video, this eclipse is a true wonder of science. After all, you will have to live another 120 years to see something like this ever again.