China is best place to observe total solar eclipse in July

According to a joint news conference held by the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) and the National Astronomical Observatories and other departments on May 19, the longest total solar eclipse in 2,000 years, also the most important one of this century, will occur from around 8 to 11 am on July 22 this year. China will be the best place in the world to observe this spectacle.

According to the experts attending the news conference, the total solar eclipse will last more than two hours from its first stage of "Eclipse Begins" to the final stage of "Eclipse Ends." It will be possible to observe the total solar eclipse from China for up to six minutes, and there will be a 250km-wide belt on which a total solar eclipse can be observed. From west to east, the belt will cover southern Tibet Autonomous Region, central Sichuan Province, southern Hubei, Henan, Anhui and Jiangsu Provinces, northern Zhejiang Province and Shanghai.

According to sources, the total solar eclipse will be the longest in 2,143 years. “An ordinary total solar eclipse lasts about three minutes on average, but it is rare that a five or six minute total solar eclipse can be observed in the middle and lower reaches of China’s Yangtze River,” said Zhao Gang, Director-General of the Chinese Astronomical Society and Deputy Director of the CAS National Astronomical Observatories.

At the news conference held on May 19, the Chinese Astronomical Society and the CAS National Astronomical Observatories also issued plaques and certificates indicating “designated sites for the observation of the 2009 total solar eclipse” to eight cities including Tongling, Tongcheng, Yixian, Jiaxing, Suzhou, Gaochun, Changzhou and Wuxi.

Partial solar eclipse can be observed in Beijing

Zhao noted that apart from the total solar eclipse belt traversing China where a total solar eclipse can be observed, people in other places across China can also observe a partial solar eclipse at varying degrees. Beijing residents can observe a partial solar eclipse, with about 70 to 80 percent of the sun blocked out; “People will sense a feeling of darkness, but it will not be obvious.” He advised city residents wishing to observe the spectacle to use special equipment instead of watching the partial solar eclipse directly with naked eyes.

Translated by LOTO