A total solar eclipse swept across the vast Indonesian archipelago on Wednesday, marked by ecstatic sky gazers cheering the spectacle, devout Muslims kneeling in prayer and tribespeople performing rituals.
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The moon is obscuring part of the sun over flowers during a solar eclipse in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Wednesday, March 9, 2016.
Thousands of eclipse-chasers came from overseas and the government, which has been the promoting the event for more than a year, forecast a substantial tourism boost.
The moon briefly blotted out the sun for observers in a 90-mile-wide (145 kilometers) strip of land and sea – the “path of totality” – that stretched east across Sumatra, Borneo, Sulawesi and other islands, all the way to an empty patch of the Pacific northeast of Hawaii.
Joe Rao, an associate astronomer at the American Museum of Natural History’s Hayden Planetarium in NY, called Alaska Airlines last fall, explaining that the flight would be in the right place for the eclipse.
Indonesia’s first solar eclipse since 1983 is seen from Ternate island, Indonesia, March 9, 2016.
The flight departure was initially 25 minutes too early to catch the eclipse’s best views, but the airline chose to move the flight time to accommodate viewers of the phenomenon.
The timelapse shows the view of the eclipse from one of Indonesia’s eastern islands. Other parts of Southeast Asia witnessed substantial partial eclipses.
“The sun totally disappeared”.
The partial eclipse will commence at 23:19 GMT and the total eclipse at 00:15 GMT, with the moment of maximum shadow at 01:59 GMT. On land the durations were mostly between 1 and 3 minutes.
NASA said prior to the eclipse that scientists would be using the phenomenon to study the sun’s atmosphere.
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If you’re lucky enough to see it a person, make sure to wear protective eyewear. Ali Kotarumalos and Niniek Karmini in Jakarta, George Rajaloa in Ternate, Abdy Mari in Sigi Biromaru and Rachel D’oro in Anchorage contributed.
