Home   Sun, Moon & Space   Eclipses   July 21–22, 2009 Total Solar Eclipse

July 21–22, 2009 Total Solar Eclipse

Millions of people in India, China, and other parts of Asia witness a total solar eclipse on July 22, 2009. Cities such as Surat, in India, as well as Chengdu, Shanghai, and Wuhan, in China, experience the eclipse’s totality. Visitors at the Taj Mahal, which is listed as one of the modern world’s seven wonders, witness this eclipse.

This is the longest total solar eclipse in the 21st century, and will not be surpassed in duration until June 13, 2132. The moon's umbra travels along a track that is about 15,150km (about 9414 miles) long and covers 0.71 percent of the Earth’s surface area over a course of three hours and 25 minutes. The eclipse’s maximum duration of totality is six minutes and 39 seconds.

This eclipse wasn't visible in Washington DC - Which upcoming eclipses can be seen in your location?

What the Eclipse Looked Like Near the Maximum Point

The animation shows what the eclipse approximately looked like near the maximum point. The curvature of the Moon's path is due to the Earth's rotation.

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Where the Eclipse Was Seen

Try our new interactive eclipse maps. Zoom in and search for accurate eclipse times and visualizations for any location.


Path of the Eclipse Shadow

Regions that saw, at least, a partial eclipse: Asia, North in Australia, Pacific, Indian Ocean.

The eclipse's path

According to NASA, the path of the moon's umbral shadow begins in India and crosses through Nepal, Bangladesh, Bhutan and China before curving south across the Pacific Ocean. A partial eclipse is seen within the much broader path of the moon's penumbral (partially shaded outer region) shadow, which includes most of eastern Asia, Indonesia, and the Pacific Ocean.

Expand for a list of selected cities where at least part of the total eclipse was visible
Expand for a list of selected cities where the partial eclipse was visible

This eclipse wasn't visible in Washington DC - Which upcoming eclipses can be seen in your location?

Eclipse Shadow Path

Portion of Sun covered by the Moon (Eclipse obscuration)

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The dark areas symbolize night and twilight.

When the Eclipse Happened Worldwide — Timeline

The eclipse started at one location and ended at another. The times below are actual times (in UTC) when the eclipse occurred. This calculation uses a Delta T value of 66.0 seconds.

Eclipse Stages WorldwideUTC TimeLocal Time in Washington DC*
First location to see the partial eclipse beginJul 21 at 23:58:17Jul 21 at 7:58:17 pm
First location to see the full eclipse beginJul 22 at 00:51:16Jul 21 at 8:51:16 pm
Maximum EclipseJul 22 at 02:35:18Jul 21 at 10:35:18 pm
Last location to see the full eclipse endJul 22 at 04:19:23Jul 22 at 12:19:23 am
Last location to see the partial eclipse endJul 22 at 05:12:21Jul 22 at 1:12:21 am

* These local times do not refer to a specific location but indicate the beginning, peak, and end of the eclipse on a global scale, each line referring to a different location. This eclipse isn't visible in Washington DC.

Upcoming eclipses visible in Washington DC

Next Total Solar Eclipse will be on Jul 11, 2010

Eclipse calculations usually accurate to a few seconds

Countries Where the Eclipse Is Visible

CountryTypeStartEndTotality Duration
Bangladesh
Total Solar Eclipse
6:58 am 9:06 am 4m, 33s
Bhutan
Total Solar Eclipse
6:00 am BTT8:07 am BTT5m, 58s
China
Total Solar Eclipse
8:00 am CST11:04 am CST46m, 42s
India
Total Solar Eclipse
5:28 am IST7:44 am IST15m, 50s
Japan
Total Solar Eclipse
9:25 am JST1:12 pm JST37m, 43s
Kiribati
Total Solar Eclipse
2:42 pm GILT6:09 pm PHOT20m
Marshall Islands
Total Solar Eclipse
2:15 pm 4:56 pm 10m, 21s
Myanmar
Total Solar Eclipse
6:59 am 10:17 am CST4m, 43s
Nepal
Total Solar Eclipse
5:30 am IST10:03 am CST4m, 17s
Afghanistan
Partial Solar Eclipse
6:14 am 6:24 am AFT---
American Samoa
Partial Solar Eclipse
4:15 pm SST6:11 pm SST---
Australia
Partial Solar Eclipse
12:49 pm PGT2:10 pm AEST---
Azerbaijan
Partial Solar Eclipse
6:28 am AZST6:13 am IRDT---
British Indian Ocean Territory
Partial Solar Eclipse
7:23 am IOT7:27 am IOT---
Brunei
Partial Solar Eclipse
8:47 am MYT10:23 am BNT---
Cambodia
Partial Solar Eclipse
7:08 am ICT9:23 am ICT---
Cook Islands
Partial Solar Eclipse
5:17 pm CKT6:57 pm CKT---
Fiji
Partial Solar Eclipse
3:09 pm FJT5:10 pm FJT---
French Polynesia
Partial Solar Eclipse
5:23 pm TAHT6:03 pm TAHT---
Guam
Partial Solar Eclipse
11:25 am ChST2:15 pm ChST---
Hong Kong
Partial Solar Eclipse
8:14 am HKT10:46 am HKT---
Indonesia
Partial Solar Eclipse
7:13 am WIB2:04 pm PGT---
Iran
Partial Solar Eclipse
5:53 am TMT6:18 am IRDT---
Kazakhstan
Partial Solar Eclipse
6:20 am ALMT8:01 am ALMT---
Kyrgyzstan
Partial Solar Eclipse
8:18 am CST9:57 am CST---
Laos
Partial Solar Eclipse
6:32 am MMT9:25 am ICT---
Macau
Partial Solar Eclipse
8:13 am CST10:44 am CST---
Malaysia
Partial Solar Eclipse
8:17 am MYT10:39 am MYT---
Maldives
Partial Solar Eclipse
6:00 am MVT6:41 am MVT---
Micronesia
Partial Solar Eclipse
11:20 am CHUT3:51 pm KOST---
Mongolia
Partial Solar Eclipse
7:19 am HOVT10:41 am CHOT---
Nauru
Partial Solar Eclipse
2:39 pm NRT5:00 pm NRT---
New Caledonia
Partial Solar Eclipse
2:20 pm NCT3:58 pm NCT---
New Zealand
Partial Solar Eclipse
3:36 pm NZST4:57 pm NZST---
Niue
Partial Solar Eclipse
4:22 pm NUT6:00 pm NUT---
Norfolk Island
Partial Solar Eclipse
3:19 pm NFT4:03 pm NFT---
North Korea
Partial Solar Eclipse
9:32 am KST12:06 pm KST---
Northern Mariana Islands
Partial Solar Eclipse
11:13 am ChST2:15 pm ChST---
Oman
Partial Solar Eclipse
5:29 am GST5:47 am GST---
Pakistan
Partial Solar Eclipse
5:37 am IST7:56 am ---
Palau
Partial Solar Eclipse
10:17 am 12:48 pm ---
Papua New Guinea
Partial Solar Eclipse
12:09 pm PGT2:47 pm PGT---
Philippines
Partial Solar Eclipse
8:26 am 11:16 am ---
Russia
Partial Solar Eclipse
7:32 am OMSST3:19 pm MAGST---
Samoa
Partial Solar Eclipse
4:16 pm WST6:12 pm WST---
Singapore
Partial Solar Eclipse
8:39 am SGT9:44 am SGT---
Solomon Islands
Partial Solar Eclipse
1:40 pm SBT4:04 pm SBT---
South Korea
Partial Solar Eclipse
9:29 am KST12:14 pm JST---
Sri Lanka
Partial Solar Eclipse
5:54 am IST7:15 am IST---
Taiwan
Partial Solar Eclipse
8:18 am CST11:06 am CST---
Tajikistan
Partial Solar Eclipse
4:44 am AFT9:54 am CST---
Thailand
Partial Solar Eclipse
6:31 am MMT9:20 am ICT---
Tokelau
Partial Solar Eclipse
4:12 pm TKT6:11 pm TKT---
Tonga
Partial Solar Eclipse
4:17 pm TOT6:11 pm TOT---
Turkmenistan
Partial Solar Eclipse
5:28 am UZT6:49 am TMT---
Tuvalu
Partial Solar Eclipse
2:58 pm TVT5:10 pm TVT---
US Minor Outlying Islands
Partial Solar Eclipse
2:08 pm WAKT6:04 pm SST---
United Arab Emirates
Partial Solar Eclipse
5:38 am GST5:47 am GST---
United States
Partial Solar Eclipse
4:39 pm HST6:19 pm HST---
Uzbekistan
Partial Solar Eclipse
6:20 am KGT7:52 am KGT---
Vanuatu
Partial Solar Eclipse
2:03 pm VUT4:02 pm VUT---
Vietnam
Partial Solar Eclipse
7:03 am ICT9:30 am ICT---
Wallis and Futuna
Partial Solar Eclipse
3:14 pm WFT5:12 pm WFT---

All times shown in this table are local time. (Note: more than one time zone is listed.) "Totality duration" gives the time between the start and finish of totality within the entire country (not at one location).

How Many People Can See This Eclipse?

Number of People Seeing...Number of People*Fraction of World Population
Any part of the eclipse3,360,000,00048.75%
At least 10% partial3,240,000,00046.97%
At least 20% partial3,180,000,00046.13%
At least 30% partial3,100,000,00044.99%
At least 40% partial2,960,000,00043.02%
At least 50% partial2,830,000,00041.13%
At least 60% partial2,650,000,00038.45%
At least 70% partial2,310,000,00033.60%
At least 80% partial1,840,000,00026.73%
At least 90% partial1,260,000,00018.33%
Totality or annularity421,000,0006.12%

* The number of people refers to the resident population (as a round number) in areas where the eclipse is visible. timeanddate has calculated these numbers using raw population data provided by the Center for International Earth Science Information Network (CIESIN) at Columbia University. The raw data is based on population estimates from the year 2000 to 2020.

An Eclipse Never Comes Alone!

A solar eclipse always occurs about two weeks before or after a lunar eclipse.

Usually, there are two eclipses in a row, but other times, there are three during the same eclipse season.

All eclipses 1900 — 2199

This is the second eclipse this season.

First eclipse this season: July 7, 2009 — Penumbral Lunar Eclipse

Third eclipse this season: August 5–6, 2009 — Penumbral Lunar Eclipse


Eclipses in 2009