The solar eclipse on July 22, 2009 is probably the most perfect and longest total solar eclipse during hundreds of years from 1991 to 2132.

In Chinese tradition, there are many mysterious legends about solar eclipse, “Tengu eat the sun” is the most famous one among them. It is said that there is a disciple of Sakyamuni named Mulian, he is a kind-hearted man. However, his mother is just the opposite. Once his mother tried to humiliate the vegetarian Buddhist monks by feeding them dog meat, but failed at last. The Jade Emperor in heaven is extremely angry when he knows this. Therefore, Mulian’s mother was put to hell as a punishment and transformed to a dog. Mulian is a dutiful son and he tried his best to rescue his mother. It was a successful rescue though Mulian is punished too as a cost. “The evil dog” went to the palace where Jade Emperor lives and tried to eat the sun and moon as a revenge. People all know that “the evil dog” is afraid of nothing except the crackers, so it eventually becomes a tradition to chase the “the evil dog” away using crackers when solar eclipse happens.

Scientifically, a solar eclipse occurs when the moon passes between the Sun and the Earth so that the Sun is fully or partially covered. This can only happen during a new moon, when the Sun and Moon are in conjunction as seen from the Earth.

A total solar eclipse is a spectacular natural phenomenon and many people travel to remote locations to observe one. The one is going to happen tomorrow exactly belongs to this category.

It is said that the black shadow of the moon tomorrow will land in the Arabian Sea first, and then cross through central and north-east India, south-east Nepal, Bhutan’s most areas, the northern part of Bangladesh, the most eastern and southern India, as well as in central Tibet; later the shadow will move across the central region of China, and then to Ryukyu Islands of the China East Sea. In China, this total solar eclipse will pass Tibet, Yunnan, Sichuan, Chongqing, Hubei, Hunan, Anhui, Jiangxi, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Shanghai, etc in order. 11 provinces in total. The estimated arrival time for this longest and most perfect solar eclipse in China is from 9:00-9:37AM, Jul, 22, 2009.

Tips for watching this total solar eclipse:

1. Must wear special-made glasses to protect your eyes from burning and you can easily find this kind of glass in supermarket like Carrefour etc.

2. Better wear a hat with brim to create a darker environment for the better-effect view and again, to protect your eyes.

3. Better rest your eyes every 30 seconds.

To be continued tomorrow with wonderful videos!