Solar eclipse of July 22, 2009

The total solar eclipse of July 2009 crossed Asia and the Pacific Ocean, with the path of totality running across India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Myanmar and China and then over Japanese islands and the Pacific. At its maximum, over the Pacific, totality lasted about six minutes and forty seconds, the longest of the 21st century. Millions of people in India and China prepared to watch, but heavy cloud and rain spoiled the view in many Chinese cities, including parts of the Yangtze valley, despite their lying directly in the path. Observers on Japanese islands and ships in the Pacific had better conditions. The next eclipse of comparable length will not occur until the 22nd century.

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