Solar eclipse spreads cloak of darkness over
Asia
AFP - 2 hours 20 minutes ago
VARANASI, India (AFP) - - The longest solar eclipse of the
21st century cast a shadow over much of Asia on Wednesday, plunging
hundreds of millions into darkness across the giant land masses of
India and China.
Ancient superstition and modern commerce came together in a
once-in-a-lifetime opportunity which could end up being the most
watched eclipse in history, due to its path over Earth's most
densely inhabited areas.
While the well-heeled took to the skies to watch the phenomenon
from specially chartered planes, others took to holy waters to
purify themselves as the sun's rays were snuffed out from Mumbai to
Shanghai.
The cone-shaped shadow, or umbra, created by the total eclipse
first made landfall on the western Indian state of Gujarat shortly
before 6:30 am (0100 GMT).
It then raced across India, blacking out the holy city of
Varanasi on the banks of the Ganges, squeezing between the northern
and southern tips of Bangladesh and Nepal before engulfing most of
Bhutan, traversing the Chinese mainland and slipping back out to
sea off Shanghai.
Monsoon clouds in India and bad weather over eastern China
spoiled the party for millions who had got up early to watch the
solar blackout.
In Mumbai, hundreds of people who trekked up to the Nehru
planetarium clutching eclipse sunglasses found themselves reaching
for umbrellas and rain jackets instead.
Heavy overnight rain turned torrential just as the eclipse was
due to start.
"We didn't want to watch it on television and we thought this
would be the best place," said 19-year-old student Dwayne
Fernandes.
"We could've stayed in bed," he said.
"Maybe, we'll just tell people we did see it," suggested his
classmate Lizanne De Silva.
A total solar eclipse usually occurs every 18 months or so, but
Wednesday's spectacle was special for its maximum period of
"totality" -- when the sun is wholly covered -- of six minutes and
39 seconds.
Such a lengthy duration will not be matched until the year
2132.
Superstition has always haunted the moment when Earth, moon and
sun are perfectly aligned. The daytime extinction of the sun, the
source of all life, is associated with war, famine, flood and the
death or birth of rulers.
Desperate for an explanation, the ancient Chinese blamed a
sun-eating dragon. In Hindu mythology, the two demons Rahu and Ketu
are said to "swallow" the sun during eclipses, snuffing out its
light and causing food to become inedible and water
undrinkable.
In the run up to Wednesday's eclipse, some Indian astrologers
had issued predictions laden with gloom and foreboding, while
superstition dictated that pregnant women should stay indoors to
prevent their babies developing birth defects.
A gynaecologist at a Delhi hospital said many expectant mothers
scheduled for July 22 caesarian deliveries insisted on changing the
date.
For others it was an auspicious date, with more than one million
Hindu pilgrims gathering at the holy site of Kurukshetra in
northern India, where bathing in the waters during a solar eclipse
is believed to further the attainment of spiritual freedom.
Those who could afford it grabbed seats on planes chartered by
specialist travel agencies that promised extended views of the
eclipse as they chased the shadow eastwards.
Travel firm Cox and Kings charged 79,000 rupees (1,600 dollars)
for a "sun-side" seat on a Boeing 737-700 aircraft that took off
before dawn from New Delhi for a three-hour flight.
In Shanghai, hotels along the city's famed waterfront Bund
packed in the customers with eclipse breakfast specials.
"The clouds move in and out, then all of a sudden you see it,"
said Glenn Evans, 46, a US executive with a cosmetics company who
lives in Shanghai and was viewing the eclipse from a rooftop bar
along the Bund.
The last total solar eclipse was on August 1 last year and also
crossed China.
The next will be on July 11, 2010, but will occur almost
entirely over the South Pacific, where Easter Island -- home of the
legendary moai giant statues -- will be one of the few
landfalls.
