THEGUARDIAN
As a solar eclipse arched across the skies of Indonesia on Wednesday, tens of thousands of people across Indonesia gazed upward, hoping for a glimpse of the rare natural phenomenon.
Crowds
started to form at the observatory in central Jakarta as early as 3am with
eclipse watchers arriving early to receive a free pair of glasses and secure
the best spot.
Some brought picnics with them,
while others climbed onto the observatory roof or perched on top of idle fire
trucks to escape the hordes
As the moon
started to pass between the earth and the sun, the skies took on an unusual
twilight tone, and the first crescent became visible.
“I felt the
greatness of creation when I saw it,” exclaimed Wiwi, a Jakarta resident.
“It’s so coooool,”
said Fabio, aged 5, “The sun looks like the moon!”
A solar
eclipse results when the moon passes directly between the Earth and the sun,
casting a shadow over the Earth. It is only possible during the new moon phase,
when the dark side of the moon faces the Earth.
Only a
partial eclipse, about 88% coverage of the sun, was visible from
Jakarta but it did not disappoint viewers.
Jakarta but it did not disappoint viewers.
“I was so
excited the first time I saw it!” said Yahra, a high-school student, viewing
the eclipse through a piece of potato crisp packet.
the eclipse through a piece of potato crisp packet.
Since the early morning, officials
had distributed 4,000 pairs of eclipse glasses, butthere wasn’t enough to go
around, leading to some outlandish improvisations.
One man grabbed an x-ray of his broken leg, and invited a handful of people to
huddle behind it and watch the eclipse with him.
“I came for
the free glasses but there weren’t any left,” said Abdul Rahman, 36,
“Anyway, the x-ray material was very clear, better than the glasses.”
“Anyway, the x-ray material was very clear, better than the glasses.”
As the
eclipse coincided with a national holiday for Nyepi, or Balinese New Year,
many used the holiday to enjoy the day out with their families.
many used the holiday to enjoy the day out with their families.
Ongko
Wiyono, 45, a civil servant woke up hours before dawn to get to the observatory
with his wife and two children.
“It’s so
different to the last eclipse,” he said, “This time the government is giving
the public the opportunity to see it and really encouraging us to learn about
it. I bought my kids here so they could really experience it.”
When there
was a solar eclipse in Indonesia in 1983 the government warned people to stay
indoors fearing the natural phenomena would have negative health impacts, or
cause blindness. Some pregnant women even hid under the covers.
But this
year the authorities had been actively promoting the eclipse
and there was a string of colorful events across the country.
and there was a string of colorful events across the country.
Without the
cloud cover a total eclipse would have been visible from 12 of 34 provinces in
Indonesia.
But while
Jakartans were enthralled by the planetary alignment, some viewers in other
parts of the country were thwarted by the overcast weather.
Despite the
intermittent rain, cultural researcher Karen Macdonald and her husband John
scrambled up a muddy slope 40km from Palangkaraya in Central Kalimantan hoping
to witness the event.
“The sky
darkened quickly and dramatically and then it was like the dimmers had
been turned back on very fast,” said Macdonald, “It was all over in two and a half minutes.”
been turned back on very fast,” said Macdonald, “It was all over in two and a half minutes.”
According to
Nasa the next solar eclipse will occur in 2017 and will be visible from the
United States.
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