Photographer: Domenico Licchelli

Summary Author: Domenico Licchelli, Jim Foster

On July 21-22, the longest total solar eclipse of the 21st century will darken the skies along a narrow track that stretches across much of southeastern Asia and the western Pacific Ocean. The composite image above is a simulation showing the full Moon as photographed on July 7 (2009) and a photo taken of the Sun on the same day. As the Moon moves in front of the Sun, this is what can be expected to be viewed by those people fortunate enough to be positioned in the crosshairs of the eclipse, with a clear view of the Sun. The eclipse will last more than 6 ½ minutes near Shanghai, China, one of the most densely populated cities in the world. In fact, because of the path the eclipse will take, tens of millions of people have a chance to observe it, weather permitting. However, because it’s the rainy season (wet monsoon) in India and southeastern Asia, cloud cover could be a major hindrance to this once in a lifetime event.

Photo details: Canon 40D camera; 200 mm lens; 2 X astrosolar filter; 1/500 exposure; f/8; 100 ISO.

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