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Fri, Jan 15 2010

SPACE 15 Jan 2010 First solar eclipse of 2010 path spans two continents

The first solar eclipse of 2010 is annular, meaning the outside of the Sun will still be visible to eclipse watchers. It will make up for being the second-best kind of eclipse -- total solar eclipses, which turn day into night, are the favorites -- by offering exceptional duration. At its peak, over the Indian Ocean, it will last 11 minutes 8 seconds. This duration won't be exceeded for 1000 years. It will last 10 minutes 45 seconds in Male, a boon for eclipse tourists. And the capital of the Maldives has an airport.

The path begins in westernmost Central African Republic, sweeps through Uganda, Kenya and southern Somalia. After tracking across the Indian Ocean, it makes landfall again between the southern tip of India and northern Sri Lanka, then sweeps over the Bay of Bengal to Burma, then China. ,

A partial eclipse is seen within the much broader path of the Moon's penumbral shadow, which includes eastern Europe, most of Africa, Asia, and Indonesia. Sep/09

RELATED READING:

Eclipse details (NASA)
http://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/OH/OH2010.html


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