NEW DELHI: July 11 will witness one of the longest total solar eclipses in history and this is the first time that an eclipse will be observed by many modem telescopes, according to scientists.
Two hours after dawn, the moon will eclipse the sun directly over the world’s greatest collection of six telescopes on the top of Mauna Kea in Hawaii. The center of the 240 km-wide shadow cast by the eclipse will pass within two km of the telescopes that will be con- ducting experiments.
In the past scientists had to carry their equipment to remote parts of the world to observe the total eclipse.
The shadow will sweep across the surface of the earth at a speed of surface of the earth at a speed of about 9000 kilometers an hour. The eclipse will last for a total of 206 minutes along a path stretching from the mid-pacific through Central America to Brazil.
During the eclipse, astronomers hope to capture on film the so- called sun-grazing comets. The comets come close to the sun sometimes ploughing into it.
Article extracted from this publication >> July 5, 1991
