This Wednesday, the majority of mankind is for quite a show – the longest solar eclipse of the 21st century. As the NASA graphic at right (click to enlarge) makes clear, the path of the eclipse traverses half the globe, covering all of India and Indonesia and most of China, not to mention the rest of Eastern Asia and Japan. NASA has made a cool interactive map available using Google Maps to help you track the path for the total eclipse, though the boundaries of the partial eclipse are much, much wider. The path for totality however is notable in that it passes near major asian metropolises like Mumbai and Shanghai.
This eclipse is generating a lot of attention. There are plans to broadcast the eclipse in real-time on the Internet, via a team from the University of Madrid. It has some people predicting earthquakes and tsunamis off the coast of Japan (the theory being that tidal pull will exacerbate tectonic plates or something). And the tiny village of Taregana in the dirt-poor Indian province of Bihar is enjoying a massive boon in tourism and infrastructure spending, because of its ostensibly ideal vantage point for viewing the totality. Of course, Chinese scientists beg to differ, claiming China is the place to be. Interestingly, the best spot to catch totality might well be Iwo Jima, since the maximum duration (6 minutes) occurs closer to there than in mainland Asia.
There won’t be an eclipse like this for another 12 decades. That fact alone should inspire some awe – especially given that the sweep of centuries are like the second hand of the cosmic clock.
For detailed information on eclipse path, visibility, and timings, see NASA’s factsheet. Wikipedia has a nice summary of information about the eclipse as well. Finally, my Beliefnet colleague Lynn Hayes offers an astrological reading of the eclipse.
All eclipse predictions by Fred Espenak, NASA’s GSFC [cite].
|
Previous Posts
Muslim Informants prevent domestic terror: the data
As Americans, Muslim Americans have the same vested interest in preventing terrorism as any other fellow citizen. In fact, since 9-11 woke all of us (muslim and non-muslim alike) to the reality of terrorism against our homeland, American muslims have arguably borne a greater responsibility in preven
posted 10:48:46am Feb. 06, 2012 |
read full post
»
I Speak for Myself volume 2 available for pre-order
The second volume of I Speak or Myself is now available for pre-order on Amazon:
The book, like its predecessor, is a collection of essays from American Muslims, in this case men. I am honored to be a contributor to this book, along with Svend White, Shahed Amanullah, Aamer Jamali, and many o
posted 8:36:08am Feb. 03, 2012 |
read full post
»
Liam Neeson is (not) converting to Islam
Yes, it's true that famed Irish (and Catholic) actor Liam Neeson said the following while filming a movie in Istanbul:
The Call to Prayer happens five times a day and for the first week it drives you crazy, and then it just gets into your spirit and it's the most beautiful, beautiful thing... The
posted 12:01:38am Jan. 26, 2012 |
read full post
»
#Tahrir Square on #Jan25Two in pictures
Today is the one-year anniversary of the uprising in Egypt's Tahrir Square, the heart of the Arab world and the pulse of the Arab Spring. Thousands and thousands of people are thronging the square. Below are some images from the past 24 hours in Tahrir. I was privileged to go to Cairo this fall and
posted 4:19:40pm Jan. 25, 2012 |
read full post
»
Letter from a Birmingham Jail - Martin Luther King, Jr.
The Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. wrote this letter while incarcerated on a charge of parading without a permit. It was in response to prominent white religious leaders of the Methodist, Presbyterian, Baptist and Roman Catholic churches, and Reform Judaism, who were against his protest marches, fe
posted 8:39:59am Jan. 16, 2012 |
read full post
»
|
posted July 21, 2009 at 2:16 am
u have given a nice information regarding the eclipse which is surely helpful for people. i hope u will display the live telecast of the eclipse. u can give more info about the eclipse to make ur site interesting.
posted July 21, 2009 at 8:39 am
Bhosdike gai deta hai Taregana ko…. madarchod
posted July 21, 2009 at 9:12 am
Thanks for the link Aziz!
posted July 22, 2009 at 2:05 am
What about the unitedstates.
posted July 22, 2009 at 2:08 am
I nead to know if we are goin to get it to.
Unitedstates of America.
posted January 12, 2011 at 2:54 pm
It is so amazing that we can now determine the path of a solar eclipse! Unfortunately, Solar Hot Water Systems won’t work during an eclipse!
posted January 13, 2011 at 4:27 pm
Without a doubt, the safest place to be when watching an eclipse is in your own home theater with a Sanyo LCD projector.
posted January 13, 2011 at 4:29 pm
Whoops! I meant to include this link!
posted January 18, 2011 at 8:26 pm
Nice post, thank you for sharing. It is no doubt that the solar power has been developed for several years, and it is increasingly being used in daily life such as solar hot water system, solar car and so on. In the future, it will be essential for us decreasing the cost and developing it in more industries, as it is the green energy for the planet.
posted April 12, 2011 at 9:54 pm
I think that it is quite important for everyone to install the solar systems as they are very beneficial and not too expensive. Thanks for sharing