An annular solar eclipse on January 15, 2010, which is the longest solar eclipse in duration since 1992, will mark the first of four eclipses throughout the year.

The solar eclipse of January 15, 2010 is an annular eclipse of theSun with a magnitude of 0.9190. It will visible as a partial eclipse in much of Africa, Eastern Europe, Middle East and Asia. It will be seen as annular within a narrow stretch of 300 km width across Central Africa, Maldives, SouthKerala, South Tamil Nadu, North Sri Lanka, Burma andChina.

The eclipse starts at Uganda, passes through Nairobi, enters Indian ocean where the greatest eclipse is taking place in mid of Ocean. After that enters Maldives, where it will be second longest with 10.8 Min of viewing. After that enters and exits India at Rameswaram. Only place of land under the eclipse on India.

After Rameswaram, enters Sri Lanka at Delft Island, exits at Jaffna in Sri Lanka, cross Bay of Bengal and ends in Burma - China border. Full data is in the NASA website.

On Jan 15th 2010 at approx 13.20 hrs IST, there is a annular solar Eclipse of sun over India. The eclipse is viewable for full 10.4 min in India. The best place is Dhanushkodi in Pamban Island off Tamil Nadu coast.Dhanushkodi is now a ghost town and it is about 18 km South east from Rameshwaram and 18 Km West ofMannar Island in Sri Lanka.

The best location In India lies between Kodandaramar Temple islet and Dhanushkodi, which falls on the central line of the Eclipse. The northern most limit of shadow in India is Cuddalore, Neyveli, Erode, Kodaikanal, Madurai. Other best locations: Trivandrum, Thoothukudi and Cape Comorin which lies 22 km north of Central line.

Only means of reaching Dhanushkodi or kodandaramar temple is by ST bus or Auto from Rameswaram and forDhanushkodi after road's end it is only by fish carts or 4x4 SUVs. Permission is required for entering Dhanushkodi ruins from the coast guard post as that area is 10 km from Sri Lankan coast.

The centre line passes some 2 km east of Kodandaramar Temple. The exact location is between NH end and Dhanushkodi ruins. Dhanushkodi is about 2 km east of the central line. The degree difference is about 0.2 between Central line - Kodandaramar Temple and Dhanushkodi ruins vice versa. Dhanushkodi is about 5 km from Kodandaramar Temple.

The moon's shadow will touch the Indian continent at around 1237 hours and leaves at 0118 hours. 
Rameswaram the southernmost tip happens to be one of the most advantageous points of the entire shadow track. 
The 'Ring of Fire' will be visible from here for around 10 minutes

Type of eclipse Nature Annular Gamma 0.4002 Magnitude0.919 Maximum eclipse Duration 11m 8s Coordinates 1.6N 69.3E Max. width of band 333 km Times (UTC) (P1)

Partial eclipse begin  at 4:05:28 (U1) Total begin 5:13:55 Greatest eclipse 7:07:39 (U4) Total end 8:59:04 (P4) Partial end 10:07:35

What is Solar Eclipse ?
An eclipse of the sun occurs when the moon revolving in its orbit around the earth comes between the sun and the earth. The moon blocks the light of the sun and a shadow of the moon is cast over the earth's surface..

How does the moon block the sun? 
By a fortunate coincidence, the sun's diameter is 400 times larger than that of the moon, and at the same time, it is 400 times as far away. From where we are, this creates the illusion that they are the same size. If we look through a filter at the sun, it looks exactly like the moon on a full moon night. When the moon passes in front of the sun, the shadow falls on the earth and it appears to exactly cover the sun's disc. This is what a solar eclipse is - a shadow.

Is it evil to watch Solar Eclipse ?
In essence, an eclipse is no more evil than the shadow of a tree, or a tall building. The moon just blocks off the light of the sun for a brief, beautiful moment.

Where can we see this ? 
During a solar eclipse, the moon actually casts two shadows towards earth. One shadow shaped like a cone is called the umbra. This becomes narrower as it reaches the earth. No direct sunlight penetrates into this area. The path of this is called the path of totality. If you are positioned in this area than you can see a complete blocking of the sun and view a total solar eclipse. Total eclipse is observable only within a narrow strip of land or sea over which the umbra passes.

The second shadow is called the penumbra which spreads out as it reaches the earth. The penumbra is spread over a large area. People viewing the eclipse from this area of the earth's surface will see only a partial blocking of the sun. 

Longest Solar Eclipse Since 1992

The eclipse’s annular phase will last for about 11 minutes and eight seconds, which is the longest lasting solar eclipse since the annular solar eclipse on January 4, 1992, which lasted for about 11 minutes and 41 seconds. This duration will not be equaled or exceeded until the annular solar eclipse of December 23, 3043, which is 1033 years ahead of 2010.

Where is the Eclipse Visible?

The maximum eclipse point occurs in the middle of the Indian Ocean, but the annular phase can still be seen from either Africa or Asia. People in the towns of Bambari and Bangasou, in the Central African Republic, can witness the annular eclipse at sunrise before it moves towards Uganda. The capital city of Kampala will witness seven minutes and 39 seconds of annularity but the sun will be only 20 degrees above the eastern horizon at the time.

The city of Nakuru, in Kenya, will have more than eight minutes of annularity, while from the country’s capital of Nairobi, the annular phase will last just under six minutes. Annularity will cross southern Somalia before leaving towards the Indian Ocean.

The Maldives will witness the eclipse’s annularity for 10 minutes and 44 seconds, before the eclipse moves past south-east Bangladesh and passes the towns of Akyab and Mandalay in Myanmar (Burma).  The path then moves to China, where the city of Nanyang witnesses the eclipse for seven minutes and 26 seconds while Xuzhou sees it for six minutes and 56 seconds. Chongqing, which saw the total solar eclipse of 2009, will also witness the annular eclipse for seven minutes and 50 seconds.

The Eclipse’s Path

The eclipse’s annular path begins in the western part of the Central African Republic at 05:14 Universal Time (UT). The shadow then passes through Uganda, Kenya and southern Somalia, while the central line duration of annularity grows from seven to nine minutes.

The antumbra (“negative” shadow of the moon that appears when the moon is on the far side of its orbit and its umbral shadow is not long enough to reach earth) crosses the Indian Ocean for the next two hours, with its course moving from east-south-east to northeast. The greatest eclipse occurs at 07:06:33 UT when the eclipse magnitude reaches 0.9190. The eclipse path’s width is 333 kilometers (about 207 miles) and the sun is 66 degrees above the flat horizon formed by the ocean. The duration of annularity is 11 minutes and eight seconds when this occurs. This will be the longest annular duration until December 23, 3043, which is more than 1000 years ahead.

The eclipse continues northeast where it finally encounters land in the Maldive Islands at 07:26 UT. The capital city, Malé, experiences an annular phase lasting 10 minutes 45 seconds. When the antumbra reaches Asia, the central line passes directly between the southern India and northern Sri Lanka at 07:51 UT. Both regions are within the path where maximum annularity lasts 10 minutes 15 seconds. The eclipse shadow reaches then Myanmar (Burma) where the central line duration is eight minutes and 48 seconds, and the sun's altitude is 34 degrees.

The eclipse’s central line will enter China at 08:41 UT. The shadow crosses the Himalayas through the Yunnan and Sichuan provinces. As mentioned earlier in this article, Chongqing will witness a duration of seven minutes 50 seconds. The antumbra's speed then increases as the duration decreases as it passes through the Shaanxi and Hubei provinces afterward. In its final moments, the antumbra travels down the Shandong peninsula and leaves earth's surface at 08:59 UT.

Eclipses in 2010

The eclipse that occurs on January 15, 2010, is not the only eclipse for the year. The full list of eclipses in 2010 includes: