About 400 million Chinese and some of the citizens of East Asia and India sub-continent will see the longest total solar eclipse expected to take place in the present century at 5:36 a.m. on Wednesday 29/07/1430 H. Astronomers believe that the sun’s screening will continue for six minutes thirty eight seconds in the area of the great area of eclipse (near river Yangtse in China). This eclipse is only surpassed by the other total eclipse expected to occur in June 2132 regarding the time length. This does not mean that there will be no total eclipse between the two eclipses, but these two eclipses are obviously characterized by the length of the period.
Mr. Saleh Al Saab, the supervisor of the National Center for Astronomy in KACST indicated that, according to God omnipotence, the eclipse is expected to begin with the sun rise on the Indian Gulf of (Khampat) and that the shadow of the moon first time on that gulf making a dark belt with a width that exceeds (250 km).
Mr. Al Saab that this belt will pass the Indian Sub-Continent heading to East Asia and China where the great part of that belt passes through China. Due to that some astronomers called it (China Great Eclipse) since it will be witnessed by may people of that country. On the other hand it is called so due to China interest in the eclipse in all times.
Al Saab indicated China is considered one of the countries that keep the records of eclipse of past eras as well as the correlation of this astronomy incident with several Chinese folk superstitions which has incited people in the past to cause much noise and uproar.
Al-Saab added: “Although this eclipse will not be witnessed in the Kingdom, it will be favorable to remind that these phenomena represent one of the lessons of God Almighty”. He has stated that the solar eclipse occurs by the will of God when the moon comes between the earth and the sun and so screens the light of the sun from part of the earth. This usually occurs at the end of some lunar months collateral to the conjunction which means beginning of the lunar month”.