Sky gazers chase longest eclipse, defy soothsayer predictions

With Chinese scientists set to capture a 40-minute sequence of images of the corona during a solar eclipse visible throughout much of the country this morning, tourists have flocked to cities believed to be the best observation spots, defying soothsayers' ominous predictions.

"We have set up 17 observation stations along the central line of the solar eclipse path in China to capture the whole sequence of corona images," Wang Sizhao, a researcher at the Nanjing-based Purple Mountain Observatory, told the Global Times via e-mail, adding that the total eclipse would last as long as 6 minutes and 43 seconds, the longest of its kind this century.

It's also the longest total solar eclipse visible in China since 1814, and the next one this long one won't be seen on the mainland until 2309. Beijingers interested in catching the eclipse can start watching the sun vanish at 8:30 am, and a partial eclipse will be most visible at 9:30 am.

Source: http://china.globaltimes.cn/top-photo/2009-07/449612.html