China to witness longest annular solar eclipse in 1,000 years
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An annular eclipse of the sun is expected to cross China Friday afternoon, Cheng Zhuo, a researcher with the Purple Mountain Observatory under the Chinese Academy of Sciences, said Wednesday.[Xinhua] |
The annular eclipse, which is predicted to be the longest in duration for the next 1,000 years globally, would cross China and be visible in parts of Yunnan, Sichuan, Guizhou, Shaanxi, Hunan, Hubei, Henan, Anhui, Jiangsu and Shandong provinces as well as Chongqing municipality, said Cheng Zhuo, researcher of the Purple Mountain Observatory of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.
China witnessed its last annular solar eclipse 23 years ago, on Sept. 23, 1987, and Friday's is considered to be the longest between Aug. 4, 1992, to Dec. 23, 3043, Cheng said.
"Many amateur astronomers have taken time off work and spent a lot on money traveling to see it," said Lin Qing, head of the Sheshan Station of Shanghai Astronomical Observatory, Chinese Academy of Sciences.
Lin is the leader of the "sun chaser group" that will view the eclipse from Dali City, in southwest China's Yunnan Province, which is thought to be the best location for observation.
"We travel across China simply to witness magnificent astronomical phenomena," Lin said.
Lin's group is one of the hundreds swarming into Yunnan from other parts of China. Almost all hotel rooms are full in Dali.
The eclipse will become visible in China at 4:37 p.m. and end at 4:59 in east China's Jiaodong Peninsula, Shandong Province, where a sunset eclipse will occur.
Although Shandong will be the last stop for observation, the amateur astronomers could not wait to find the best observation points and set up their equipments.
Hundreds of people had already gathered in the morning in Hongdao Peninsula, a scenic spot of Qingdao, coastal city of Shandong.
Many of the visitors were foreigners, including Japanese and Koreans, said Zhao Pimin, head of the company that runs a fishing village scenic resort in Hongdao.
"I came to Qingdao four days ago and come here at 10 a.m. today," said Jodl Gayatin, an engineer from the Philippines, who identified himself as an "eclipse hunter."
"Qingdao is a lucky place as a sunset eclipse is rare to see. This might be the only time to witness a sunset eclipse in my entire life. I'll keep taking photos here and share them with my friends when I go back to the Philippines," Gayatin said.
The longest duration of the eclipse in China would be eight minutes and 17 seconds in Ruili City, Dehong Autonomous Prefecture, Yunnan Province, Cheng Zhuo said.
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An annular eclipse of the sun is expected to cross China Friday afternoon, Cheng Zhuo, a researcher with the Purple Mountain Observatory under the Chinese Academy of Sciences, said Wednesday.[File photo] |
The sunset eclipse would be seen in some areas of Shandong, Guangdong and Taiwan, and a partial eclipse would be seen in most of the rest of China, except for the northeast tip of Heilongjiang Province, Cheng said.
The eclipse path would begin in Africa and pass over the Indian Ocean, where the maximum duration would be 11 minutes and eight seconds. It would continue through Asia, over Bangladesh, India, Myanmar and China, Cheng said.
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