Solar eclipse sparks flurry of activity
Updated
The longest solar eclipse of the 21st century plunged millions across Asia from India to China into temporary darkness.
It also sparked a flurry of scientific activity as well as religious fervour.
Presenter: Claudette Werden
Speaker: R. Sarker, Bangladesh Astronomical Society ; John August ,amateur astronomer; S. Satish, India's Space Research Organisation; Dr Stephen Hughes - Queensland University of Technology
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WERDEN: Superstition has always surrounded the eclipse, the moment when earth, moon and sun are perfectly aligned. While many across Asia were putting on special glasses to witness the event others were offering prayers for protection. F.R. Sarker, the head of the Bangladesh Astronomical Society says thousands of people travelled to the north of the country to witness the moon pass over the sun and cast a shadow on the earth.
SARKER: We saw the eclipse, it continued for about four minutes, and we saw the stars brightening on the sky and suddenly the atmosphere was very dark and some people are very conservative and religious people in the villages fled away to their homes.
WERDEN: Eclipse chaser and amatuer australian astronomer John August was among more than 20 bus loads of tourists, driven to an agricultural field in China to also witness the event.
AUGUST: At the end of the eclipse you had the edge of the sun showing through, and you had a bright spot at the bottom which is the diamond ring effect, for me the eclipse is showing us the geometry of the universe, that we're on a planet the moon's orbiting around and we're orbiting the sun and when everything lines up you can actually see it on earth, so when you are watching the eclipse you actually feel the geometry around you.
WERDEN: The cone-shaped shadow, or umbra, created by the total eclipse first made landfall on the western Indian state of Gujarat shortly before 6:30 am local time. The shadow then moved eastward across India, Bangladesh and Nepal before traversing the Chinese mainland. From there it moved across the islands of southern Japan and into the western Pacific. It sparked a flurry of scientific activity according to S. Satish, media director at India's Space Research organisation.
SATISH: Totally 8 balloons were launched, one at 3 am, one at 5.45am, and then around the eclipse time, every 4 minutes we launched a balloon, we were looking for surface radiation, rain, then humidity, pressure, temperature, wind speed, wind direction, all these parameters have been monitored. We have a wealth of data which needs to be analysed.
WERDEN: It was also a total eclipse of the sun more than 80 years ago that proved a major scientific theory according to physics lecturer Dr Stephen Hughes.
HUGHES: In 1919, what they did they took photographs of the stars around the sun and discovered the stars were in a different position from at night time and Einstein was able to use that to confirm his theory of general relativity.
WERDEN: A total solar eclipse usually occurs every 18 months , but Wednesday's spectacle was special because of the length of time the sun was wholly covered by the moon.. a total of six minutes and 39 seconds. That won't happen again until the year 2132.
