VARANASI, India/WUHAN, China – A total solar eclipse created darkness after dawn on Wednesday in swath of Asia, where hundreds of millions of people in the open watched the skies darken, though in some places thick summer clouds blocked the sun.
The longest total solar eclipse of the 21st century cut through the world’s most populous nations, India and China, as it travelled half the globe. It was visible along a roughly 250 km-wide (155 miles) corridor, U.S. space agency NASA said.
In India, where eclipse superstitions are rife, people snaked through the narrow lanes of the ancient Hindu holy city of Varanasi and gathered for a dip in the Ganges, an act believed to bring release from the cycle of life and death. Amid chanting of Hindu hymns, thousands of men, women and children waded into the river with folded hands and prayed to the sun as it emerged in an overcast sky.
The view of Earth at 8:30 a.m. local time in Taiwan.
But millions, too, shuttered themselves in, gripped by fearful myths based on superstitions, one of which says that an eclipse is caused when a dragon-demon swallows the sun.
The eclipse is seen as a mixed blessing for millions of Indians. Those who considered it auspicious bathed in holy rivers and ponds for good fortune during the solar blackout.
But astrologers predicted the eclipse spelled bad luck for others. Expectant mothers asked doctors to advance or postpone births to avoid complications or a miserable future for children.
The eclipse next swept through Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, Myanmar and over the crowded cities along China’s Yangtze River, before heading to the Pacific Ocean.
In central China crowds gathered along the high dykes of the industrial city of Wuhan, roaring and waving goodbye as the last sliver of sun disappeared, plunging the city into darkness, although clouds cheated them of part of the spectacle.
But eclipse viewers in central China were luckier than those in the coastal cities near Shanghai, where overcast skies and rain in some places blocked the view of the sun entirely.
The view of Earth at 9:30 a.m. local time in Taiwan.
In Shanghai, a certain Glenn Evans let out an excited cry as the barely visible sun began to disappear completely behind the moon. “You can see it. It’s already started!” he called out to other eclipse-watchers.
Evans was one of hordes of Shanghai residents and tourists who poured into the Chinese city’s streets amid cloudy morning skies and intermittent rain Wednesday, hoping for a clear view of the longest eclipse of the 21st century.
There was disappointment across the eclipse’s wide path through India and China, with many barely getting only a glimpse of the once-in-a-lifetime event after traveling around the world.
But despite the brief, soggy views, many were amazed nonetheless by the spectacle of day turning to night for nearly six minutes.
Thousands of tourists had descended on Shanghai for the eclipse, with hotels and restaurants in marquee locations fully booked despite early warnings that visibility would be a problem.
At the M on the Bund restaurant, which marked the event by serving breakfast for the first time, applause broke out as the lunar shadow fell on the city at 9:36 am (0136 GMT), lasting for about six minutes.
“It’s so long, this is absolutely long,” said Erick Lansard, the head of the orbital mechanics committee at the International Astronautical Federation, who was visiting from Paris.
“When I got on the plane they said the probability of seeing anything was 10 percent maximum, so I was very happy to see the beginning of the eclipse,” he said, standing on Mon the Bund’s rooftop patio.
On the street below, office workers spilled out of buildings as darkness fell.
“It’s like magic, the day turns into night in such a short period of time … I have no idea where I am right now. It feels like a different world,” said Chen Hong, a biotech company chief executive.
Shanghai’s landmark Oriental Pearl Tower and other skyscrapers across the Huangpu river left their lights off during the eclipse to enhance viewing. Car headlights reflected on the wet streets provided some of the only light.
“It’s a very eerie darkness,” said Siobhan Das Bachran, a Malaysian businesswoman, who said she had seen a partial eclipse more than a decade ago in Dubai. “It’s like twilight.”
In eastern India, tens of thousands gathered in the village of Taregna after scientists insisted it would offer the best view of any site in the country, but many were disappointed.
American tourist Shaun Allen, who said he had travelled to India with four friends specifically to see the eclipse, complained that weather conditions had ruined the experience for him. He further complained that it turned out to be a complete waste of time and money,
Ram Lakhan Prasad, an Indian civil servant, said Wednesday’s eclipse “would have been the experience of a lifetime if it weren’t for the clouds”.
“We travelled here yesterday and stayed awake all night for a skyful of cloud,” he said. “But you can’t blame nature. It’s monsoon season after all.”
The eclipse lasted up to a maximum of 6 minutes, 39 seconds over the Pacific Ocean,
This is the longest eclipse of this century and will not be surpassed until June 13, 2132, according to NASA.
With reports from Reuters, Agence France Presse & Associated Press
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