Century's longest Solar eclipse on 22nd July

Sky gazers await for the longest total solar eclipse of the 21st century on 22nd July 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.

After leaving mainland Asia, the path crosses Japan's Ryukyu Islands and curves southeast through the Pacific Ocean where the maximum duration of totality will be 6 min 38 sec.

A partial eclipse is seen within the much broader path of the Moon's penumbral shadow, which includes most of eastern Asia, Indonesia, and the Pacific Ocean, Devgun said.

Greatest eclipse occurs in the South Pacific at 08:05:19 IST. At this instant, the axis of the Moon's shadow passes closest to Earth's center.

The magnitude of total solar eclipse will be approximately 1.080.

This solar eclipse is the longest total solar eclipse that will occur in the 21st century and will not be surpassed in duration until 13th June, 2132.

The next total solar eclipse will be on 11th July, 2010 which will be seen in South pacific, Chile and Argentina