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Space Entertainment

Pics of the Longest Solar Eclipse of the Century 97

Posted by samzenpus from the dark-day dept.
Vinod writes "Yesterday thousands of people around Asia witnessed the longest solar eclipse of the century. Although it was not clearly visible in some parts due to overcast weather, thousands of people gathered to view this spectacular event. Yesterday's solar eclipse lasted for 6 to 7 minutes, making it the longest solar eclipse of the century. Here is a collection of 33 beautiful images of the solar eclipse from around the world."
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Pics of the Longest Solar Eclipse of the Century More

Pics of the Longest Solar Eclipse of the Century

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  • Where are my superpowers? (Score:5, Funny)

    by Helmholtz ( 2715 ) on Thursday July 23, 2009 @08:47AM (#28794625) Homepage

    I thought eclipses were supposed to cause super powers ... or was it that they took them away? *shakes fist*

    • Re: (Score:3, Funny)

      by Fleeced ( 585092 )
      And surely, that last eclipse on Heroes was the longest, rather than this one - certainly more than a few measly minutes! Not to mention the global coverage! (And please don't complain about spoilers... after the decline since season 1, you can't possibly complain)

      • And surely, that last eclipse on Heroes was the longest, rather than this one - certainly more than a few measly minutes! Not to mention the global coverage!

        Obviously the result of an as-yet-undiscovered Hero with Super Solar Eclipse powers. Or maybe even something more powerful, like General Purpose Plot Device powers... though I guess that'd be redundant with just about everyone else.

        (And please don't complain about spoilers... after the decline since season 1, you can't possibly complain)

        Speaking of sp

  • boston dot com (Score:5, Informative)

    by bigdaddyhame ( 623739 ) on Thursday July 23, 2009 @08:50AM (#28794673) Homepage

    these pics look much bigger nicer over at boston.com's The Big Picture, where they were posted yesterday and no doubt scooped and scaled for your link.

    http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2009/07/the_longest_solar_eclipse_of_t.html [boston.com]

    • Re: (Score:3, Informative)

      by interkin3tic ( 1469267 )

      these pics look much bigger nicer over at boston.com's The Big Picture, where they were posted yesterday and no doubt scooped and scaled for your link.

      To TFAs credit, they didn't just steal the images and scale them: they also did some editing. Specifically they left out the picture of people, including several gross old men, getting into the ganges.

      Old man nipples and cherrios don't make for a good morning for me.

    • The nicest picture of the eclipse was posted here, though:
      http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2006/03/0329_060329_eclipse.html [nationalgeographic.com]

      I literally said "wow" out loud when I saw that.

  • Multiple sunglasses (Score:4, Interesting)

    by MyLongNickName ( 822545 ) on Thursday July 23, 2009 @08:52AM (#28794697) Journal

    the dude with four pairs of glasses looking at the solar eclipse. Is that even safe? I understand most sunglasses don't even block the dangerous rays and make it even worse to look toward the sun as your eyes are more dilated and the harmful rays burn your eyes even more.

    Comments?

    • No, probably not safe. A #14 welding filter works fine.

      rj

    • How about the kid under his father with the camera. The kid is obviously looking right at the event!

  • Queue jokes about solar eclipse sunglasses made in china ...
    in 3... 2... 1...

  • But here in Beijing, all I could see was a think cloud of haze. I couldn't even find the bloody sun. So I went back inside and went to sleep.

  • Must be a Slashdotter (Score:5, Funny)

    by jayme0227 ( 1558821 ) on Thursday July 23, 2009 @09:11AM (#28794895) Journal

    I'm guessing that the guy with 3 pairs of sunglasses over his regular glasses must have been a slashdotter. Where else would you find such ingenuity (and such nerdiness)?

    Whoever you are, I salute you, my friend.

    • Re:Must be a Slashdotter (Score:4, Funny)

      by Anonymous Coward on Thursday July 23, 2009 @09:23AM (#28795027)
      Especially a solution that, as pointed out earlier in the comments, actually isn't very effective in protecting your eyes. Yep, definitely a slashdotter.

    • Where else would you find such ingenuity (and such nerdiness)?

      Yonsei University in Seoul, South Korea according to boston.com.

      I remember a partial eclipse here in the states, apparently people were staring at the sun through CDs, which were ineffective. There were warnings on the news to that effect.

      The guy taking the picture through exposed X ray films... without knowing anything about those specific films, I'd guess that they wouldn't be doing anything to block UV rays. Does anyone know if they actually do?

      • The guy taking the picture through exposed X ray films... without knowing anything about those specific films, I'd guess that they wouldn't be doing anything to block UV rays. Does anyone know if they actually do?

        I think that might have been artistic and not an attempt to increase safety.

    • We salute you, Mr. Uses-three-pairs-of-sunglasses-to-look-at-the-solar-eclipse guy!

    • I'm guessing that the guy with 3 pairs of sunglasses over his regular glasses must have been a slashdotter. Where else would you find such ingenuity (and such nerdiness)?

      Whoever you are, I salute you, my friend.

      I don't always stare at a solar eclipse, but when I do, I wear three pairs of sunglasses. Stay sightless, my friends.

  • Everyone brags to have the longest solar eclipse (Score:1, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward

    When the average solar eclipse is much smaller than 6 minutes.

  • Many of the pics show people wearing what look like disposable glasses to view the eclipse; I thought looking at the sun at any time was a Really Bad Idea (tm) and during an eclipse was supposedly an Even Worse Really Bad Idea.

    I guess they now make thin films that are so dark as to be safe to look at the sun now?

    • Re:What glasses are those? (Score:5, Informative)

      by Sockatume ( 732728 ) on Thursday July 23, 2009 @09:20AM (#28794997)

      One of the big chemical companies is churning out a mylenised film that makes for an effective pair of eclipse glasses. It's a really bad idea to look directly at the sun during an eclipse because the iris expands in response to the low mean light level and provides little to no protection from the high peak light level when the photosphere is visible. Wearing the mylenised glasses doesn't make your iris expand any wider, but it does cut down that peak light level dramatically.

      • Would not four pairs of sunglasses achieve the same effect? In essence, the radiation emanating from the sun during an eclipse is no different than during regular daylight, and if sunglasses are effective for normal use then using a sufficient number of pairs (of sufficiently dark glasses) should be equally effective during an eclipse.

        • Even most $5 sunglasses say they block 100% of UV rays. So I don't see why a single pair of sunglasses wouldn't suffice. If they truly do block 100%, then what is getting through that is hurting my eyes?
          • I think both visible and infrared light can hurt your eyes in these kinds of intensities. But also, I'm guessing "100%" doesn't literally mean 100%, like how "no trans fat" just means less than half a gram per serving.

          • Well, most lasers don't emit radiation in the UV spectrum, so according to your theory those shouldn't hurt your eyes either! In reality, the energy from sufficiently strong radiation in spectra other than UV can damage your eyes.

    • Re: (Score:3, Informative)

      by Anonymous Coward

      Actually, during totality, looking at the sun (or rather, the moon and the solar corona) completely unfiltered is a Not Bad If You Know What You're Doing Idea. But you're supposed to look away as soon as totality ends, and it's easier to recommend nobody looks at all than to try educating people on the difference between total, partial, and annular eclipses, and the different stages of a total eclipse.

      And since the introduction of arc welding, suitable thin films have been used in lenses for welding helmets

    • A possible theory / Haiku for the situation..... Will look anyway Cannot produce when blinded Government stepped in
    • Those glasses are *very* dark. They let through something like 10^-6 of the light, making it safe to look directly at the sun through them. Other than the sun, all you see is black.

      They're only useful during the partial phase of the eclipse. During totality, they're not necessary, and in fact you won't be able to see anything with them on.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by HTH NE1 ( 675604 )

      I thought looking at the sun at any time was a Really Bad Idea (tm) and during an eclipse was supposedly an Even Worse Really Bad Idea.

      But... that's where the fun is!

  • There's a cool scene in U2's video for The Unforgettable Fire, where they're recording at Slane Castle (as you do), and go outside to see an eclipse, whereupon someone who looks like a neighbouring farmer says...

    Aye, look what ye've doon NOW with yrr bloody rork music.

    Oh, and it's spelt "TEH ASIA".

  • "nearly 6 to 7 minutes"? (Score:1, Informative)

    by Anonymous Coward

    How about "6m39s"? Some people forget that we have freaking good models and instruments nowadays. Even if you don't know that, it should be intuitive that we wouldn't be able to determine which one is the longest of the century with only minute-level precision.

  • TFS doesn't make it very clear. It should have stated it a few more times.

    When "The Media" hypes science stories they always proclaim this kind of shit. What they don't say, for instance, is how much longer is this eclipse than the second longest one.

    Maybe one millisecond, who knows.

    • Actually, that's an interesting point. What's the typical length of a solar eclipse?

      I'd actually expect most total eclipses to last about the same length... the moon covers the sun, the moon's speed doesn't vary all that much. Well, I guess the earth's speed does vary on its elliptical orbit (angular velocity varies, while the area swept is constant, something like that... I'm not sure what the correct terminology was), so since the earth's speed varies, the length of an eclipse might be longer or shorter d

      • I've had that "invisible rectangle" since coming onto FF3.5. I suspect some obscure bug in the slashcode.

        • mmmm... Using Chrome, that corner lets me resize the text entry box.

          Off-topic, I know.... just trying to help.

          • Not that one. Fx 3.5 highlights a bug in the slashcode. What you are seeing in Chrome is added to every textarea automatically by Chrome itself, not a bug in the slashcode.

  • All of these are taken from Flickr and without sticking (c) notice.. Heck !!
  • After reading about this the other day I was trying to find some nice pictures of the lunar shadow on the earth. Have there been any pics of it from high up? I found one or two blurry shots from a plane, but nothing that really looked inspiring.

    • Maybe India will release a video soon:

      A 10-member team of scientists from the premier Indian Institute of Astrophysics in Bangalore and the Indian air force filmed the eclipse from an airplane, an air force press release said. But millions across India shunned the sight and planned to stay indoors.

      Interestingly enough, the next paragraph is a huge WTF:

      Even in regions where the eclipse was not visible, pregnant women were advised to stay indoors in curtained rooms, due to a belief that the sun's invisible rays would harm the fetus and the baby would be born with disfigurations, birthmarks or a congenital defect.

      Why would the moon being in front of the sun make these "invisible rays" more dangerous than being in direct sunlight?

      • Re: (Score:2, Insightful)

        by Samgilljoy ( 1147203 )
        Religion doesn't have to make sense; it just has to keep you in your place. Then again, governments use the same tactic: "There's a threat, an invisible threat, your freedom must be restricted. See? You weren't harmed by the threat only I can see. I saved you. Now, go back to work."

  • The goggles! They do nothing!

  • Comment removed based on user account deletion
  • Isn't it amazingly COOL how the best pictures of the eclipse are those which include people and their living?

    Science isn't everything. Coincidence of congruent angles isn't as cool as people living under an eclipse.

    We are ALL lucky to live on this planet. How many other planets have eclipses like these?

  • ... by sufficently primitive people. It's quite amazing to see, but also quite freaky at the same time. I can imagine people who didn't understand the concept of planets and moons and the sun and how they all fit together to find this sort of thing as indicative of some greater event. I suppose you'd also have to have quite a self-centered view of the universe to believe that way, but I guess that's part and parcel with not understanding what is going on; if you don't get it, assume it's all about you.

  • Here's a collection of the pictures I took of the eclipse: http://owh.net/?YEYnRRguJY [owh.net]

    It's my first time photographing an eclipse so the pictures aren't "Professional Quality" but they're not awful either.

  • I saw the eclipse from Delhi. 83% totality.
    However it was cloudy till 6:30am. 6:26 was the max phase.
    From 6:30 to 6:45 clouds relented, and I could actually take a few pics.
    Here you go!
    http://tanveer.smugmug.com/gallery/8996323_Jy27n [smugmug.com]

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