Video: Space scientist witnesses total solar eclipse
21 August 2009
On July 22 the path of the Moon's umbral shadow began in India and crossed Nepal, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Burma and China.
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Dr Lucie Green, from Ïã¸ÛÁùºÏ²ÊÖÐÌØÍø's Mullard Space Science Laboratory, travelled across the Pacific Ocean aboard a cruise ship to witness the total eclipse of the sun last month.
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That path crossed Japan's Ryukyu Islands and curved southeast through the Pacific, where it reached a maximum duration of more than six minutes.
Here Dr Green describes her experience and explains what space scientists can learn from observing such a rare phenomenon.
Video: right, Dr Green describing July's solar eclipse; left, a partial eclipse at sunset
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Ïã¸ÛÁùºÏ²ÊÖÐÌØÍø context
Ïã¸ÛÁùºÏ²ÊÖÐÌØÍø's Mullard Space Science Laboratory is the UK's largest university-based space science research group. It delivers a cutting-edge science programme, underpinned by a capability in space science instrumentation, systems engineering and project management.
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