Yahoo – AFP,
Gianrigo Marletta, 9 March 2016
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A total
solar eclipse is pictured from the city of Ternate, in Indonesia's Maluku
Islands, on March 9, 2016 (AFP Photo/Bay Ismoyo)
|
Ternate
(Indonesia) (AFP) - 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.
The moon
began to move between the Earth and sun at 6:19 am (2319 GMT Tuesday), and
about an hour later a total eclipse became visible in western parts of the
country.
The sun
then went entirely dark in a broad arc right across the world's biggest
archipelago nation, which straddles three time zones, before the eclipse swept
out across the Pacific Ocean.
 |
Graphic on
the March 9 total solar eclipse,
fully visible in Indonesia and partially
visible
in parts of Australia and Asia (AFP Photo)
|
Tens of
thousands of foreign and Indonesian tourists flocked to the best viewing spots,
and special events were organised, from a festival to fun runs and dragon boat
races.
"It
was spectacular," said Daniel Orange, a 52-year-old American tourist from
California, who was watching the total eclipse on the small western island of
Belitung.
"It
was very beautiful, there are a lot of people here and when the totality hit,
everybody cheered. I got goose bumps."
Tribal
ritual
In Ternate,
in the eastern Maluku Islands, thousands of people yelled "Glory to God"
as the total eclipse became visible, while on the small Mentawai archipelago in
the west of the country, hundreds cheered, prayed and hugged one another during
the spectacle.
The whole
eclipse lasted around three hours in Indonesia, but the total eclipse was
visible for between just one-and-a-half and three minutes, depending on
location.
The weather
stayed clear in many popular viewing spots, although clouds obscured views in
some places.
For some of
Indonesia's tribes, the eclipse is viewed with apprehension. In Palangkaraya,
on Borneo island, Dayak tribesmen performed a special ritual to ensure that the
sun, which they view as the source of life, did not disappear entirely.
As the
total eclipse hit, the tribal chief -- dressed in a traditional costume -- began
to chant loudly and was answered by even louder chants from other members of
the tribe.
For many in
the world's most populous Muslim-majority country, it was a spiritual
experience, and large numbers flocked to mosques to say special prayers.
 |
People
watch the total solar eclipse in Banda Aceh on March 9, 2016
(AFP
Photo/Chaideer Mahyuddin)
|
Foreign
scientists also descended on Indonesia. A four-strong team from NASA was in
Maba, a small town in the Malukus, to observe the eclipse.
Other parts
of Southeast Asia witnessed substantial partial eclipses.
A crowd of
about 400 people, including students and families, gathered at a university
sports field in Singapore to watch the eclipse, while groups of enthusiasts
also converged on beaches and outside their highrise apartments to gaze
upwards.
In the
Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur, 1,000 school students witnessed the eclipse at
the national planetarium.
Meanwhile,
in the Philippine capital Manila, dozens of people carrying telescopes jostled
for space on the roof deck of the country's only space observatory.
"People
were howling with excitement. For many of them, it's their first time to see a
solar eclipse," said Philippine state astronomer Allan Alcaraz.
A partial
eclipse was also visible in northern Australia, with a handful of astronomy
enthusiasts watching the event in Darwin.
 |
The solar
eclipse was a spiritual experience for many Indonesians who flocked
to mosques
to say special prayers, such as these worshippers in Banda Aceh,
on March 9,
2016 (AFP Photo/Chaideer Mahyuddin)
|
The total
eclipse swept across 12 out of 34 provinces in Indonesia, which stretches about
3,000 miles (5,000 kilometres) from east to west, before heading across the Pacific.
It passed
over the major islands of Sumatra, Borneo and Sulawesi, before sweeping over
the Malukus and out into the ocean.
The last
total solar eclipse occurred on March 20, 2015, and was only visible from the
Faroe Islands and Norway's Arctic Svalbard archipelago.
Total
eclipses occur when the moon moves between the Earth and the Sun, and the three
bodies align precisely.
As seen
from Earth, the moon is just broad enough to cover the solar face, creating a
breath-taking silver halo in an indigo sky.
A total solar #eclipse above Ternate in Indonesia's Maluku Islands pic.twitter.com/bVvjtwe2Vz— AFP news agency (@AFP) March 9, 2016
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