TAIPEI: People in Taiwan will be able to see an 86 percent eclipse of the sun this morning when the the longest total solar eclipse of the century will occur.

The total eclipse, however, will be seen only along a narrow corridor stretching from northern India, eastern Nepal, northern Bangladesh, Bhutan, the northern tip of Myanmar, central China and the Pacific Ocean, including the Ryukyu Islands, Marshall Islands and Kiribati.

The full eclipse will last for 6 minutes 39 seconds.

Taiwan, which is located very close to the corridor, will see a partial eclipse starting 8:22 am, with the maximum eclipse expected to appear between 9:36 am and 9:41 am, according to the Astronomical Observatory under the Central Weather Bureau.

A solar eclipse occurs when the moon's orbit moves between the earth and the sun so that the sun's disc is fully or partially covered. In the morning, the sun will be seen in 80 percent eclipse in northern Taiwan, and in 70 percent eclipse in central and southern Taiwan, the officials said.

To mark the spectacular natural event, the Chiayi Amateur Astronomers Association will broadcast it live online from Taiwan and the mainland.

Yeh Shang-ai, a spokesman for the association, said the broadcast will be carried out in cooperation with various local elementary schools.

Lantan Elementary School in Chiayi city will be the main site of the broadcast, while another team will send the live images from Suzhou, one of the mainland cities located in the path of totality. That will allow viewers to see the total eclipse without having to travel far, Yeh said.

The broadcast will be available at http://hichannel.hinet.net/event/2009tse/ and http://map.answerbox.net/2009tse, Yeh said.

The "National Museum of Natural Science" in Taichung city will connect its telescope to a TV monitor to give visitors a closer view of the solar eclipse.

China Daily/CNA

(HK Edition 07/22/2009 page2)