Archive of Wednesday’s Solar Eclipse Can Be Seen Online

In the Mediterranean town of Side, Turkey, hundreds of people celebrated Wednesday morning as a celestial event unfolded in the sky above. Crowds of people streamed down the street to an ancient Greek temple dedicated to Apollo, some carrying tripods and telescopes. In Ghana, Lybia, Syria, and many neighboring countries, schools closed and streets emptied as people got ready. West African governments hurried to educate people about the dangers of looking at the eclipse without proper eye protection, with some villages handing out hundreds of thousands of pairs of special paper-rimmed dark glasses that resembled the glasses worn in 3-D movies. Villagers in remote areas did not have access to the eyewear, so officials cautioned them to stay home and not look up at the eclipse because the light from the corona can burn eyes.

Tens of thousands of tourists descended upon the Mediterranean coast of Turkey, where NASA said the eclipse would be seen best. Residents of the area welcomed the boost in tourism, after dealing with recent bird flu outbreaks and mass protests against the publication of caricatures of Islam’s Prophet Muhammad. Many people circulated advice based on traditional superstitions about eclipses. One Indian paper advised that pregnant women should not go outside during the eclipse or they might give birth to a blind baby or a baby with a cleft lip. The Hindustan Times told readers that food cooked before the eclipse should be thrown out afterward because it would be impure, and anyone holding a knife or ax during the eclipse would cut themselves.

In the earthquake-prone Tokat province of Turkey, citizens set up tents outside their homes in spite of assurances from scientists there that the eclipse would not result in any tremor activity. But residents were still concerned because an earthquake in northern Turkey killed some 17,000 people just six days after a solar eclipse in August 1999.

A total solar eclipse occurs when the new moon moves directly between the sun and the earth. The moon’s shadow travels in a line across the earth, speeding across a narrow path for several hours while people below glimpse the results for only a few minutes. Wednesday’s eclipse caused the moon’s shadow to fall on the eastern tip of Brazil, eastward from there across the Atlantic, through northern Africa, across the Mediterranean, into Turkey, and then on to Mongolia, where it faded out with the sunset. Total eclipses are rare because they require the tilted orbits of the moon, sun, and Earth to line up exactly so that the moon totally obscures the sun. The next total solar eclipse will occur in 2008.

At an ancient Roman theater in Side, astronomers and scientists from NASA and the Exploratorium science museum in San Francisco hosted 2,000 people to watch the eclipse and set up equipment to broadcast the event live via the Internet. "It’s one of these experiences that makes you feel like you’re part of the larger universe," said NASA astronomer Janet Luhman. People everywhere gathered in groups to chatter excitedly about the celestial show to come. One tourist from Barcelona, Spain, told reporters that he was addicted to the excitement of eclipses. "It’s the color, the metallic blue-green color on the skin of the people," he said. "The sky with the stars in the background…the background is blue. It’s a special feeling."

As the eclipse began to make its way across the earth, celebrations sprang up along its path from Brazil to Mongolia. Schoolchildren in Ghana cheered as the first total eclipse in years plunged the area into darkness. Automatic street lights flickered on, authorities sounded whistles, and crowds of people burst into applause. In the town of Salloum on the Libyan border, folklore troupes played popular Egyptian music as some 8,000 tourists watched the phenomenon. Many celebrants said that the eclipse bolstered their faith in a troubled world. "I believe it’s a wonderful work of God, despite all what the scientists say," said Solomon Pomenya, a 52-year old doctor. "This tells me that God is a true engineer."

A crew of astronomers and scientists from the Exploratorium museum transmitted the eclipse live, in addition to a telescope-only feed. The video witnessed the spectacular moment of totality, when the moon completely blocked the sun and the sun’s outer corona was revealed. Archived videos of the event can be seen at the museum’s website, http://www.exploratorium.edu. The last solar eclipse occurred in November 2003, but very few people observed it because it was best viewed from Antarctica.