They seemed to be generally clear
skies in most popular image points, although in some areas clouding partially
obscured views.
TERNATE, Indonesia: A total solar
eclipse swept across the vast archipelago of Indonesia today, in the presence
of tens of thousands of observers from heaven and marked by the parties, tribal
Muslim prayers and rituals.
The moon began moving between the
Earth and the sun at 6:19 am (2319 GMT Tuesday), and an hour later the direct
sunlight was blocked completely in the western parts of the country,
authorities said.
The total eclipse is set to move
in a wide arc right across the archipelago, the eastern Maluku Islands, before
sweeping out across the Pacific Ocean. Partial eclipses were also visible on
other parts of Asia and Australia.
"It was spectacular,"
Daniel Orange, a 52-year-old American tourist from California, who was watching
the total eclipse in the small western island of Belitung, told AFP.
"It was very beautiful, there are
many people here and when the totality hit, everyone cheered. I got
goosebumps."
They seemed to be generally clear
skies in most popular image points, although in some areas clouding partially
obscured views.
From a festival with live bands,
with popular races and traditional dances, events will take place throughout
Indonesia for an estimated 10,000 foreign visitors and 100,000 domestic
tourists witnessed the phenomenon.
Hotels in the best observation
points were filled for weeks - in the city of Ternate, in the Moluccas, the
authorities have had to find additional space for tourists in boats.
There was full coverage of the
phenomenon in the local TV channels.
I Gde Pitana, head of foreign
tourism government, described the phenomenon as "a tourist attraction
created by God".
Many of the faithful in the
country of world's most populous Muslim majority say special prayers attended
eclipse.
"Our prophet Muhammad said
that prayer means the greatness of God, who has created this wonderful
phenomenon," said Ma'ruf Amin, chairman of the Indonesian Ulema Council,
the highest administrative body of the country Islamic.
Tribal rituals
Some of the tribes in Indonesia
are afraid of the phenomenon, however. Members of the Dayak tribe in a part of
the island of Borneo were created to perform a ritual to ensure that the sun,
which they view as the source of life, does not disappear completely.
The total eclipse swept across 12
of the 34 provinces of Indonesia, which extends about 3,000 miles (5,000
kilometers) from east to west, before heading across the Pacific Ocean.
It will be visible from only one
and a half to three minutes in most places.
Besides being seen in Sumatra,
the eclipse will sweep across Borneo and Sulawesi and the Moluccas before
heading toward the ocean.
One of the most popular events
for foreign tourists will be a festival near Palu in Sulawesi.
Among those coming to Indonesia
is Thai Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn, who recently made headlines after a
toilet as $ 40,000 for his visit to Cambodia was not used.
She will be watching the show in
Ternate, although the authorities insist that there is no luxury toilet has
been built for her on this occasion.
The last total solar eclipse
occurred on March 20, 2015, it is only visible from the Faroe Islands and the
Arctic archipelago of Svalbard in Norway.
Total eclipses occur when the
moon moves between the Earth and the Sun, and the three bodies are aligned
precisely.
As seen from Earth, the Moon is
only wide enough to cover the solar face, creating a halo of silver
breath-taking in an indigo sky.
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