BTW, I asked my dad the questions about the salaah and so on, and basically it’s sunnah to start praying from the moment you notice the eclipse right ’till it ends… you could also just pray for the duration of the total eclipse (what we did here due to time constraints). This means that the salaah can last for hours!
My dad said when he first prayed Salaatul Khusoof in Medinah, it lasted at least two hours… tonight we only prayed for one hour, and masha’Allah it certainly was an experience! In fact, it reminded me somewhat of Taraweeh (most likely because our imaam was the same haafidh who led us in Ramadhan)… subhanAllah.

salaam

Timing of the prayer: The time for the eclipse prayer lasts throughout the eclipse. The prayer must be started during the eclipse, although it can end after the eclipse is over. The khutbah is delivered after the prayer, whether or not the eclipse is still in progress. Once the eclipse is over, the requirement and time for the prayer no longer exists and therefore it is invalid to pray Salat al-Kusuf outside the time of the eclipse. Imams Abu Hanifah and Ahmad have stipulated that the eclipse prayer cannot be held during times when prayer is normally discouraged (makruh), i.e. when the sun is rising or setting over the horizon, or when it reaches its zenith; other Imams say that the recommendation of the eclipse prayer takes precedence over these discouraged times.

Length of the prayer: The eclipse prayer should be longer than normal daily, weekly or annual prayers. The eclipse prayer performed by the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, was extremely long: it started soon after the beginning of the eclipse and ended after the eclipse was over (i.e. two rak’at lasting perhaps 2-3 hours!). His prayer included four instances of recitation from the Qur’an, with the first and longest of them being reckoned as about as lengthy as Surat al-Baqarah. Further, the qiyam, ruku’ and sujud were described as longer than any others seen performed by him, may Allah bless him and grant him peace. However, the Imam should as always bear in mind the capabilities of his congregation, and the prayer should not be prolonged excessively for the old and weak amongst them. There is no requirement to prolong the prayer throughout the eclipse, nor to pray extra rak’at: the two-rak’at prayer is made as long as is reasonable, and the remainder of the eclipse is spent in supplication (du’a), general mention and remembrance of Allah (dhikr, including recitation of the Qur’an) and giving charity.

I’m afraid I don’t know the answer to your questions Dawud, though it seems from the previous article we published, the prayer can end during the eclipse. I think this means that the time period in which the eclipse is visible is simply the time that salat-al-kusuf is valid. Like the timing for Fajr is between dawn and sunrise, but one doesn’t spend the whole time praying the same two rakaat (though you can do, if you like). This is my interpretation of the advice in the article, anyway.

JazaakAllah Khair for the reminder. =)