The longest solar eclipse of the 21st century!

Tthe longest solar eclipse of the 21st century.

A total solar eclipse usually occurs every 18 months or so, but Today's spectacle was special for its maximum period of "totality" -- when the sun is wholly covered by the moon -- of six minutes and 39 seconds.

Such a lengthy duration will not be matched until the year 2132.

It's a pity that it was raining today.

Nonetheless, you could live for another 123 years to catch it again!

!!... (hopefully you are able to live that long!) =]

Solar eclipses are nowadays major tourist attractions, but in ancient times, they were events of ill omen, to be dreaded and feared.

One has it that if a pregnant woman goes out during an eclipse, her baby will be born blind or with a cleft lip.
Another says that a pregnant woman should not touch her belly during a lunar eclipse, or she will cause the baby to be born with a birthmark.

To this day, the Chinese for a solar eclipse is "resh" or "Sun-eat".
If they knew an eclipse was coming, the Chinese would shoot fireworks and bang gongs to scare it away.
The Vikings believed two wolves ran after the Sun and the Moon, and that an eclipse happened when they caught up with their prey.
They, too, would make as much noise as possible to scare off the beasts.

You can visit this web: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_Eclipse or http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_eclipse_of_July_22,_2009 , for more infomation on how an eclipse happens.

and

http://www.timeanddate.com/eclipse/solar-eclipse-history.html and

http://irelandsown.net/solareclipse.html on some myths and history about it.

ANW, the solar eclipse will be on July 11, 2010.

last but not least, today is the day where majority of the sec4s are sitting for their O lvl mt listening examination! let's pry hard that the solar eclipse will do nothing bad to all of them! haha! GD LUCK PEOPLE!

cheers;

bernice