SINGAPORE : It was the first solar eclipse of the year, and many said it was the clearest seen in 10 years.
More than 6,400 people were at the Singapore Science Centre's Observatory Centre on Monday to watch the rare phenomenon unfold at about 4.30pm.
However, before the maximum eclipse could be seen, visibility started to dip at about 5.40pm.Another group of Singaporeans was at the Al-Firdaus Mosque to witness the same natural phenomenon.
They also took part in activities which included calculating and predicting the next solar eclipse.
Experts said the next solar eclipse that can be seen in Singapore will likely be on July 22 this year.
However, it will be not be as vivid as the one on Monday, where observers could see the moon's shadow covering almost 80 per cent of the sun's surface. - CNA/ms
Indonesians among the few to witness solar eclipse
Zakki Hakim, Associated Press Yahoo News 26 May 09;
ANYER, Indonesia – Indonesians were among the few worldwide to witness an eclipse of the sun Monday, some cheering and banging on drums as the moon slowly crossed its path, blocking out everything but a thin, blazing rim of fire.
Dozens gathered in the western coastal town of Anyer to see the spectacle, which peaked at 4:40 p.m. and lasted for about four minutes."I'm old, but I still think this is magical," said Roanna Makmur, 66, who drove several hours with eight friends to witness the sight, known as an annular eclipse, because it does not completely black out the sun.
"I can't help but feel the greatness of God," she said, as fellow onlookers applauded and then fell silent. "Anyone who passed up this opportunity, really missed out."
Annular eclipses, which are considered far less important to astronomers than total eclipses of the sun, occur about 66 times a century and can only be viewed by people in the narrow band along its path.
Aside from several regions in Indonesia — from Sumatra island in the west to Kalimantan in the east — only villagers on a tiny South Pacific island group known as the Cocos could see Monday's eclipse, said Jay Pasachoff, professor of astronomy at Williams College in Williamstown, Massachusetts. He is also a chair of the International Astronomical Union's Working Group on Eclipses.
But a partial eclipse — with coverage ranging from 1 percent to 84 percent of the sun's diameter — was to visible in the southern third of Africa, in southeastern India, and Southeast Asia, as well as the western part of Australia.
Hundreds turned out in Indonesia's Samarinda, the capital of East Kalimantan province, where more than 90 percent of the sun's diameter was covered. Some ignored danger warnings and looked directly at the sun. Others wore sunglasses to protect their eyes or looked at its reflection in buckets of water.
"We are so happy we were able to see this," said Fauziah Sulaiman, a mother of two, who was standing outside her house. "It's great for the children, especially after learning about it in school."
The last total eclipse of the sun was Aug. 1, 2008, and was visible in Canada, across northern Greenland, the Arctic, central Russia, Mongolia and China.
The next total eclipse will be July 22, 2009, and will be visible in India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Myanmar, China and some Japanese islands.
Clouds mar Saros 131 annular solar eclipse sighting
The Jakarta Post 26 Jan 09;
The Meteorology and Geophysics Agency (BMG) in Serang, Banten, predicted Monday clouds would block sightings of a solar eclipse taking place over Banten and the Sunda Straits between 13:00 and 15:00 today.
"Clouds will be spread evenly across the Banten sky," Serang BMG official Muhammad Tatang Hermawan told tempointeraktif.com.
He added rain would most likely be falling around Banten while the eclipse was happening.
"It's possible the eclipse will not be visible or, if it is, it probably won't offer a perfect sighting," Hermawan said, adding the eclipse would not affect the tide levels or wave height along the Sunda Straits.
During its 3-hour 46' trajectory across the earth's surface, the moon's antumbra will pass over about 14,500 kilometers and covers 0.9 percent of the planet’s surface area.
An antumbra refers to the moon’s negative shadow that appears when the moon is on the far side of its orbit and its umbral shadow is not long enough to reach the earth.
This is the 50th eclipse of Saros 131. The Saros cycle refers to the cycle of 18 years, 11 days and eight hours in which this particular kind of eclipse recurs.
The first annular eclipse of Saros 131 recorded occurred on August 4, 1720.
The eclipse’s partial phases will be visible primarily from southern Africa, Australia and Southeast Asia, including Indonesia. (amr)