The Longest Eclipse of the Century

by antefixus21
The Longest Eclipse of the Century

Occurrence: The eclipse has different perspective with respect to science and mythology. Eclipses are scientifically interesting because they allow a rare glimpse of the cooler corona, glowing gases near the sun's surface and solar flares, which are normally not visible due to the brightness of the sun. To state it in simple way, the full moon gets between the earth and sun. If this is the sole reason, you might expect solar eclipse to happen once a month. But unfortunately it is not so as the moon's orbit is tilted 50 tilted to the earth's orbit. So this geometry lines up twice a year to make the solar eclipse.Dated June 22'09: This particular eclipse which occurred on 22nd of June '09 is considered to be the longest one which lasted for 6 minutes and 39 seconds. India is one among the few places to witness the eclipse in totality. One of the best views of the complete eclipse appeared to be in the town of Varanasi, on the banks of Ganges River, sacred to devout Hindus. Thousands had been there to take the holy dip as ablution of their sins. Students, Scientists had gathered at Tregna, an Indian village as it was predicted to have the clearest view of eclipse. But the thick clouds and overnight rains ad played the spoilsport to breakdown the enthusiasts. Other places in India to witness the eclipse were Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, and West Bengal. Chennai witnessed partial eclipse of 62%.The longest stretch of eclipse was witnessed over the Pacific which lasted for 6 minutes and 39 seconds. This wont overreach till 2132 as this has been recorded as the longest one since 1991This is the most beautiful part of an eclipse, the formation of a diamond ring. The second one is the total eclipse witnessed.Eclipse the Myth:1.Hindu Mythology: India subscribed to the idea that a monster ate the sun during an eclipse and the beast even had his own name and identity. The story of Rahu, who had a tail like a comet and a head like a dragon, appears in many of the ancient Hindu scriptures. Rahu became jealous when he discovered the gods drinking the nectar of eternal life. So he went about disguising himself and began to drink it as well.But the sun and moon saw him and summoned the god Vishnu, who quickly cut off the creature's head. The body crashed to earth, creating mountains and islands, but Rahu's head survived and rose to the sky. In an eternal quest for revenge, he ate the sun and moon, causing an eclipse.2.American mythology:For native Americans was the theme of sibling rivalry. There was the turbulent relationship between the sun goddess, Malina, and her moon brother, Annigan. One night the two adolescents were romping around in the dark when he suddenly became sexually aroused and raped his sister. In her anger she fled to the sky where he lustfully chased after her. When he finally

Total Solar Eclipse | Solar Eclipse Information