Solar eclipse 2009.

It was visible from a narrow corridor through northern Maldives, northern Pakistan and northern India, eastern Nepal, northern Bangladesh, Bhutan, the northern tip of Myanmar, central China and the Pacific Ocean, including the Ryukyu Islands, Marshall Islands and Kiribati.

Partial eclipse from Bejing, China.

Photo by: Unknown Author

Totality was visible in many large cities, including Surat, Vadodara, Bhopal, Varanasi, Patna, Gaya, Dinajpur, Siliguri, Tawang, Guwahati, Chengdu, Nanchong, Chongqing, Yichang, Jingzhou, Wuhan, Huanggang, Hefei, Hangzhou, Wuxi, Huzhou, Suzhou, Jiaxing, Ningbo and Shanghai, as well as over the Three Gorges Dam. According to some experts, Taregana in Bihar, India was expected to be the "best" place to view the event.

Partial eclipse from Shueng Shui, China.

Photo by: Unknown Author

A partial eclipse was seen from the much broader path of the Moon's penumbra, including most of Southeast Asia (all of India and China) and north-eastern Oceania.

Partial eclipse from Daegu, South Korea.
Photo by: Unknown Author

This solar eclipse was the longest total solar eclipse to occur in the 21st century, and will not be surpassed in duration until June 13, 2132. Totality lasted for up to 6 minutes and 39 seconds, with the maximum eclipse occurring in the ocean at 02:35:21 UTC about 100 km south of the Bonin Islands, southeast of Japan. The uninhabited North Iwo Jima island was the landmass with totality time closest to maximum, while the closest inhabited point was Akusekijima, where the eclipse lasted 6 minutes and 26 seconds.

Partial eclipse from New Delhi, India. (Hey! That's where dad is!)
Photo by: Unknown Author.

Indian scientists observed the solar eclipse from fighter jets. The Chinese government used the opportunity to provide scientific education and to dispel any superstition. Since the solar eclipse occurred almost exactly 10 years after the Falun Gong movement was banned, it was feared that Falun Gung would use this event to show that the heavens are displeased with the Chinese government.

Solar eclipse from Wuhan, China.
Photo by: teacherlau.

In India, on this day thousands of devotees visited Kurukshetra and Varanasi to bathe in holy rivers such as the Ganges and the Sarasvati.