A rare sight was seen in the sky over Indonesia Wednesday.
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Beginning late on Tuesday (GMT), the Moon will pass directly in front of the Sun, fully eclipsing the solar disk.
Most eclipses are partial but when the moon is close enough to the Earth, the sun is completely eclipsed by the moon’s shadow and only a spectacular ring of rays known as the corona is visible. Photo: Wong Maye-E/APA partial solar eclipse is seen behind the 9th century Prambanan Temple in Yogyakarta, Indonesia.
All direct sunlight will be blocked for a short time from the western island of Sumatra, to the spice-fringed Maluku Islands thousands of miles to the east, before the total eclipse sweeps out across the Pacific Ocean.
Partial eclipses were also visible over other parts of Asia and Australia, and astronomy enthusiasts across the region gathered on rooftops, beaches and in observatories to witness the phenomenon. The eclipse was seen in other Asian countries such as Cambodia, Myanmar, Vietnam, Thailand and Indonesia.
The eclipse started at about 7.20am and reached its maximum at around 8.23am, with about 90 per cent of the sun shadowed by the moon.
Tens of thousands of foreign and Indonesian tourists have flocked to the best viewing spots, and special events were organised, from a festival to fun runs and dragon boat races.
However there are concerns that clouds could obscure the view in some places, as it is now the wet season in Indonesia.
Interestingly a few Indonesian tribes view the solar eclipse with apprehensions. August 21st of next year a total solar eclipse will be visible across much of the united states.
For the viewer, the length of time the sun was totally eclipsed depended on their location along the path. On land the durations were mostly between 1 and 3 minutes.
A total solar eclipse was observed on one of Indonesia’s eastern islands on Wednesday.
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Wright reported from Jakarta.
