A – VARANASI/WUHAN, China total solar eclipse on July 22 swept across a narrow swathe of Asia, where hundreds of millions of people 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 kmwide (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
"We have come here because our elders told us this is the best time to improve our afterlife," said Bhailal Sharma, a villager from central India travelling in a group of about 100
But for one 80-year-old woman the trip was fatal. Police said she died from suffocation in the crowd of hundreds of thousands that had gathered to bathe in the Ganges
The eclipse next swept through Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, Myanmar and over the crowded cities along China's Yangtze River, before heading to the Pacific
In Hindu-majority Nepal, the government declared Wednesday a public holiday and thousands headed for water
"Taking a dip in holy rivers before and after the eclipse salvages and protects us from disasters and calamities," said 86year-old Sundar Shrestha, who had come to the holy Bagmati river with six children and grand children
Eclipses allow earth-bound scientists a rare glimpse of the sun's corona, the gases surrounding the sun, and this year there will be extra time for study
"This is indeed quite an important event for scientific experiments. Its long duration provides you an opportunity to make very complicated, complex experiments," said Harish Bhatt, dean at the Bangalore-based Indian Institute of Astrophysics
Scientists in China planned to snap twodimensional images of the sun's corona – up to 2 million degrees Celsius (3.6 million F) hot – at roughly one image per second, Bhatt said
The eclipse lasted up to a maximum of 6 minutes, 39 seconds over the Pacific Ocean, according to NASA. It will be the longest eclipse of this century and will not be surpassed until June 13, 2132, according to NASA
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
Parents in several schools in New Delhi kept their children home from classes since the eclipse coincided with breakfast
According to Hindu custom, it is inauspicious to prepare food during an eclipse
A – VARANASI/WUHAN, China total solar eclipse on July 22 swept across a narrow swathe of Asia, where hundreds of millions of people 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 kmwide (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
"We have come here because our elders told us this is the best time to improve our afterlife," said Bhailal Sharma, a villager from central India travelling in a group of about 100
But for one 80-year-old woman the trip was fatal. Police said she died from suffocation in the crowd of hundreds of thousands that had gathered to bathe in the Ganges
The eclipse next swept through Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, Myanmar and over the crowded cities along China's Yangtze River, before heading to the Pacific
In Hindu-majority Nepal, the government declared Wednesday a public holiday and thousands headed for water
"Taking a dip in holy rivers before and after the eclipse salvages and protects us from disasters and calamities," said 86year-old Sundar Shrestha, who had come to the holy Bagmati river with six children and grand children
Eclipses allow earth-bound scientists a rare glimpse of the sun's corona, the gases surrounding the sun, and this year there will be extra time for study
"This is indeed quite an important event for scientific experiments. Its long duration provides you an opportunity to make very complicated, complex experiments," said Harish Bhatt, dean at the Bangalore-based Indian Institute of Astrophysics
Scientists in China planned to snap twodimensional images of the sun's corona – up to 2 million degrees Celsius (3.6 million F) hot – at roughly one image per second, Bhatt said
The eclipse lasted up to a maximum of 6 minutes, 39 seconds over the Pacific Ocean, according to NASA. It will be the longest eclipse of this century and will not be surpassed until June 13, 2132, according to NASA
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
Parents in several schools in New Delhi kept their children home from classes since the eclipse coincided with breakfast
According to Hindu custom, it is inauspicious to prepare food during an eclipse