
There will be a total eclipse of the Sun for parts of India, China and the western Pacific Ocean tomorrow morning, 22 July 2009. The central path begins in India's Gulf of Khambhat at 00:53 Universal Time (UT) and then sweeps over Indian cities or Surat, Indore, Bhopal, Varanasi and Pata before crossing to Nepal, Bangladesh, Burma and then parts of China.
The unusual long path of the total solar eclipse across two of the most populated countries in the world could make this the most observed eclipse in all of history. And not only that, it is also one of the longest eclipses, if not the longest eclipse in this century, lasting nearly three-and-a-half hours!

Unfortunately for us in Singapore, we will only get to see a partial eclipse and a very poor one. Only 3.6% of the sun will be covered by the moon. Partial eclipse will start for Singapore at 0:40 UT which is at 8:40 am Singapore time. Maximum eclipse is at 1:11 UT or 9:11 am S'pore time. Partial eclipse will end at 1:44 UT or 9:44 am S'pore time. The partial eclipse can be viewed over a large area, from Siberia and Kazakhstan through Southeast Asia and Indonesia. But remember, do not look at the sun directly without proper solar filters.

If you do want to catch the total solar eclipse live, do tune in to Channel U from 8 am. They will simulcast the entire eclipse live from China! Or if you can't catch it on the telly, try Sun Stopper, a local website that will also be streaming the total eclipse live.
For more info and graphics, click here, here and here.
Update: Channel U will be providing a half hour special highlights of the total solar eclipse on Wednesday night at 11.30 pm.