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| Asia watches long solar eclipse | Asia watches long solar eclipse |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| People in Asia are watching what will be the longest total solar eclipse this century, with large areas of India and China plunged into darkness. | |
| Amateur stargazers and scientists have travelled far to see the eclipse, which lasts for about five minutes. | |
| The eclipse could first be seen early on Wednesday in eastern India, though in some regions there was thick cloud. | The eclipse could first be seen early on Wednesday in eastern India, though in some regions there was thick cloud. |
| It has been moving east across India, Nepal, Burma, Bangladesh, Bhutan, China and the Pacific. | |
| The eclipse first became total over India at 0053GMT. It will cross some southern Japanese islands and will last be visible from land at Nikumaroro Island in the South Pacific nation of Kiribati. It will end at 0418GMT. | The eclipse first became total over India at 0053GMT. It will cross some southern Japanese islands and will last be visible from land at Nikumaroro Island in the South Pacific nation of Kiribati. It will end at 0418GMT. |
| Elsewhere, a partial eclipse is visible across much of Asia. | Elsewhere, a partial eclipse is visible across much of Asia. |
| Mixed blessing | |
| In India, millions gathered in open spaces from the West coast to the northern plains, with clouds parting in some cities at dawn - just before the total eclipse. | |
| "We were apprehensive of this cloudy weather but it was still a unique experience with morning turning into night for more than three minutes," scientist Amitabh Pande told the Associated Press news agency. | |
| Eclipse fever in India village | Eclipse fever in India village |
| In India and Nepal, where it is considered auspicious to watch the eclipse while immersed in holy water, crowds gathered at rivers or ponds, including tens of thousands of people at Varanasi on the Ganges. | |
| "We have come here because our elders told us this is the best time to improve our after-life," said Bhailal Sharma, a villager who had travelled to Varanasi from central India. | |
| But for others, the eclipse was seen to be a bad omen. | |
| Some parents in New Delhi kept their children from attending school at breakfast because of a Hindu belief that it is inauspicious to prepare food during an eclipse, while pregnant women were advised to stay inside due to a belief that the eclipse could harm a foetus. | |
| "My mother and aunts have called and told me stay in a darkened room with the curtains closed, lie in bed and chant prayers," said Krati Jain, a software worker in New Delhi who is expecting her first child. | "My mother and aunts have called and told me stay in a darkened room with the curtains closed, lie in bed and chant prayers," said Krati Jain, a software worker in New Delhi who is expecting her first child. |
| Authorities in China, where an eclipse was a bad omen in ancient culture, have been reassuring the public that services will run normally. | |
| In the east of the country, heavy cloud or rain was expected to make it virtually impossible to see the eclipse, while pollution over big cities posed another potential obstacle. | |
| 'Special opportunity' | 'Special opportunity' |
| The most recent total eclipse, in August 2008, lasted two minutes and 27 seconds. | |
| This one will last six minutes and 39 seconds at its maximum point. | |
| People have been buying masks to view the eclipse | |
| Alphonse Sterling, a Nasa astrophysicist who will be following the eclipse from China, scientists are hoping data from the eclipse will help explain solar flares and other structures of the sun and why they erupt. | Alphonse Sterling, a Nasa astrophysicist who will be following the eclipse from China, scientists are hoping data from the eclipse will help explain solar flares and other structures of the sun and why they erupt. |
| "We'll have to wait a few hundred years for another opportunity to observe a solar eclipse that lasts this long, so it's a very special opportunity," Shao Zhenyi, an astronomer at the Shanghai Astronomical Observatory in China told the Associated Press. | "We'll have to wait a few hundred years for another opportunity to observe a solar eclipse that lasts this long, so it's a very special opportunity," Shao Zhenyi, an astronomer at the Shanghai Astronomical Observatory in China told the Associated Press. |
| Solar eclipses allow scientists to see the gases surrounding the sun, or its corona. | |
| Solar scientist Lucie Green, from University College London, was aboard an American cruise ship heading for the point near the Japanese island of Iwo Jima, where the axis of the Moon's shadow will pass closest to Earth. | |
| "The [Sun's] corona has a temperature of 2 million degrees but we don't know why it is so hot," she said. | "The [Sun's] corona has a temperature of 2 million degrees but we don't know why it is so hot," she said. |
| "What we are going to look for are waves in the corona. ... The waves might be producing the energy that heats the corona. That would mean we understand another piece of the science of the Sun." | "What we are going to look for are waves in the corona. ... The waves might be producing the energy that heats the corona. That would mean we understand another piece of the science of the Sun." |
| The next total solar eclipse will occur on 11 July next year. It will be visible in a narrow corridor over the southern hemisphere, from the southern Pacific Ocean to Argentina. | The next total solar eclipse will occur on 11 July next year. It will be visible in a narrow corridor over the southern hemisphere, from the southern Pacific Ocean to Argentina. |
| TOTAL SOLAR ECLIPSE In the area covered by the umbra (the darkest part of the shadow), a total eclipse is seenIn the region covered by the penumbra (where only some of the light source is obscured) a partial eclipse is seen | TOTAL SOLAR ECLIPSE In the area covered by the umbra (the darkest part of the shadow), a total eclipse is seenIn the region covered by the penumbra (where only some of the light source is obscured) a partial eclipse is seen |
| Will you be watching the eclipse? You can send us your pictures and videos of the eclipse. | Will you be watching the eclipse? You can send us your pictures and videos of the eclipse. |
| Send your pictures to yourpics@bbc.co.uk or text them to +44 7725 100 100. If you have a large file you can upload here. | Send your pictures to yourpics@bbc.co.uk or text them to +44 7725 100 100. If you have a large file you can upload here. |
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