Solar eclipse 22 July 2009

Solar Eclipse or Surya Grahan (grahana/ grahanam) The longest eclipse of the 21st century will occur on July 22, 2009 and last 6 min 39 sec. The eclipse will be across a narrow corridor from northern Maldives, northern India, eastern Nepal, northern Bangladesh, Bhutan, the northern part of Myanmar, central China and the Pacific Ocean, including the Ryukyu Islands, Marshall Islands and Kiribati.

Total eclipse will be visible in many large Indian cities, including Surat, Vadodara, Bhopal, Varanasi, Patna, Dinajpur, Guwahati, Chengdu, Nanchong, Chongqing, Yichang, Jingzhou, Wuhan, Huanggang, Hefei, Hangzhou, Wuxi, Huzhou, Suzhou, Jiaxing, Ningbo and Shanghai, as well as over the Three Gorges Dam.According to some experts, Taregana in Bihar is apparently the "best" place to view the event.

The last solar eclipse India had witnessed was on Republic Day, 26 January 2009. Prior to that on 26 August 2008, an eclipse that was visibile in India had occurred. Several traditional practices are associated with solar eclipse in India. Some of them have been written here.

A partial eclipse will be seen from the much broader path of the Moon's penumbra, including most of Southeast Asia (all of India and China) and north-eastern Oceania.

Total solar eclipse wil lbe visible in India on July 22 from early morning 05:28 hours to 0:40 hours ( Indian standard time). It is expected to last nearly 4 minutes.

For eclipse on 15 Jan 2010 see here

Election Results Live: Manmohan set to Return

In the General Elections 2009, Manmohan Singh Government is set to return as the Congress emerges single largest party and the congree led coalition UPA emerges with a clear lead over the NDA.

Lok Sabha Election schedule

The 2009 Parliamentary Lok Sabha Elections in will be held over 5 phases. Election dates are 16 April , 23 April, 30 April, 7 May and13 May 2009.

Large States like Uttar Pradesh have polls spread over the 5 phases. So also, security-sensitive state of Jammu & Kashmir.

Apr 16' : Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Chhatisgarh, Jammu& Kashmir, Jharkhand, Kerala, Maharashtra, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Orissa, Uttar Pradesh, Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Lakshadweep
Apr 23': Bihar, Goa, Jammu & Kashmir, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Manipur, Karnataka, Orissa, Uttar Pradesh
April 30' : Bihar, Gujarat, Jammu & Kashmir, Karnataka,Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Sikkim, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Dadar & Nagar Haveli, Daman & Diu
May 7': Bihar, Haryana, Jammu & Kashmir, Punjab, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh,West Bengal, Delhi
May 13': Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Punjab, Tamil Nadu, Uttaranchal, Uttar Pradesh, Chandigarh, Pondicherry