15-01-2010 Longest solar eclipse of the century

A solar eclipse occurs when the Moon comes directly between the Sun and the Earth,producing a shadow on the Earth’s surface where the Sun is completely or partially obscured.Solar eclipses are rare because the moon seldom comes in the direct path between the Earth and the Sun.The solar eclipse of 15th January,2010 will be the century’s longest eclipse,having a totality duration of 11 minutes,8 seconds (visible in India for 10 minutes,24 seconds).It starts at 10:44 AM IST (5:14 AM GMT) and ends at 2:29 PM IST (8:59 AM GMT).This is an annular eclipse,that is the apparent diameter of the Moon is slightly smaller than the apparent size of the Sun.Thus at totality (when the entire disc of the Moon covers the Sun),the Sun forms a bright ring (or “annulus”, hence the name) around the Moon.