A rare total solar eclipse in the Marshall Islands

Next time it happens, it will be 123 from now in the year if 2132 – a rare total solar eclipse in Asia and the Pacific Ocean. The eclipse this year will take place in the Marshall Islands. The Islands' 70,000 inhabitants are excited and await the arrival of hundreds of tourists who will arrive at to view the historic event.

On 22nd July 2009, from the early morning hours until the afternoon, the eclipse will be visible in the Pacific Ocean region (including the Marshall Islands), central China, Northern India, East Nepal and Bhutan.

The peak of the total solar eclipse will last approximately 6 minutes and 39 seconds, not to be surpassed until 13 June 2132. For quite a long time, there will be an almost complete darkness, therefore cause confusion for animals' sense of time. Animals who are active sduring the day may act as if the night has come, ants will return to their colonies, birds will go to sleep, sheep herds will return to their pens. Animals that are active during the night, on the other hand, will turn active: crickets will churp and bats will emerge from their caves and holes. The Marshall Islands expect a few hundred tourists who will come especially to view the solar eclipse, in addition to the thousands of tourists who already visit the Island in order to scupba in the excuisite diving sites and enjoy the ever clear waters of the Marshall Islands.

(Part of the information was taken from Wikipedia)