‘Ring of fire’ eclipse amazes millions

GLOWING CIRCLE An annular eclipse appears north of Odessa, Texas, in which the moon passes in front of the sun leaving only a golden ring around its edges. The rare phenomenon was visible in wide areas across China, Japan, the Philippines and elsewhere in Asia before moving across the Pacific to be seen in parts of the western United States. AP

TOKYO—Millions of Asians watched as a rare “ring of fire” eclipse crossed their skies early Monday.

The annular eclipse, in which the moon passes in front of the sun leaving only a golden ring around its edges, was visible to wide areas across the continent. It moved across the Pacific and was seen in parts of the western United States.

In Japan, “eclipse tours” were arranged at schools and parks, on pleasure boats and even private airplanes. Similar events were held in China and Taiwan as well, with skywatchers warned to protect their eyes.

The eclipse was broadcast live on TV in Tokyo, where such an eclipse had not been visible since 1839. Japanese TV crews watched from the top of Mount Fuji and even staked out a zoo south of Tokyo to capture the reaction of the chimpanzees—who didn’t seem to notice.

A light rain fell on Tokyo as the eclipse began, but the clouds thinned as it reached its peak, providing near perfect conditions.

“It was a very mysterious sight,” said Kaori Sasaki, who joined a crowd in downtown Tokyo to watch the event. “I’ve never seen anything like it.”

At the Taipei Astronomical Museum in Taiwan, the spectacle emerged from dark clouds for only about 30 seconds.

Manila’s orange skies

But the view was nearly perfect against Manila’s orange skies.

“It’s amazing. We do this for the awe (and) it has not disappointed. I am awed, literally floored,” said astronomical hobbyist Garry Andreassen, whose long camera lenses were lined up with those of about 10 other gazers in a downtown Manila park.

The eclipse was already under way when the sun rose on the horizon at 5:27 a.m., said Mario Raymundo, an officer at the Pagasa Observatory in the University of the Philippines in Diliman, Quezon City.

Clear view

Although clouds often blocked the view, an interval of 10 minutes when the clouds parted gave onlookers a clear view of the partial annular eclipse, Raymundo said.

The maximum eclipse was seen in Metro Manila at 5:58 a.m. when the moon obscured 61 percent of the sun.

METRO SKY SHOW A photo of the partial solar eclipse taken at the Pagasa Astronomical Observatory by Mario Raymundo.

Raymundo said the metropolis was too far down south of the eclipse’s path to be able to see the full annular eclipse that was seen in China, Japan and North America.

Twitter user @countocram’s photograph showed the moon blocking half of a glowing reddish sun. The picture, which was shared by other news websites, was taken at 6:35 a.m. in Cebu City, according to the photographer.

The rare celestial event ended at 7:06 a.m. Raymundo said this particular eclipse was first recorded in 984 A.D. It will be seen again in 2030.

Not so lucky

Hong Kong skywatchers weren’t so lucky.

Several hundred people gathered along the Kowloon waterfront on Hong Kong’s famed Victoria Harbor, most of them students or commuters on their way to work. The eclipse was already underway as the sun began to rise, but heavy clouds obstructed the view.

The eclipse followed a narrow 13,700-kilometer path for 3 1/2 hours. The ring phenomenon lasted about five minutes, depending on location. People outside the narrow band for prime viewing saw a partial eclipse.

“Ring of Fire” eclipses are not as dramatic as a total eclipse, when the disk of the sun is entirely blocked by the moon. The moon is too far from Earth and appears too small in the sky to blot out the sun completely.

Cheers

As the annular eclipse reached its peak, a crowd of several thousand viewers gathered in a Utah field took a collective gasp and erupted into applause, cheers and even some howling.

“The wonder of it, the sheer coincidence that this can happen, that totally amazes me,” said Brent Sorensen, a physics professor at Southern Utah University, who brought a half-dozen telescopes to the rural town of Kanarraville for the public to peek through.

“It never ceases to amaze me,” he said.

Day did not turn into night. But light faded as the moon slid in front of the sun, much like turning down a dimmer switch, and then slowly returned as the moon moved away.

Sweet spot

Kanarraville, the “sweet spot” for viewing the full eclipse, is a community of just 355 residents about 375 kilometers south of Salt Lake City.

Accessed by an old two-lane highway, the town has just two businesses—a campground and a nursery—plus a church, town hall and tiny post office.

Patrick Wiggins, who is part of the Nasa ambassador outreach program, was overcome with emotion once the moon slipped into place.

Wiggins had previously seen five total solar eclipses, but had never before witnessed an annular eclipse. He wasn’t disappointed.

“I’ve been planning this since the 1980s,” he said, his voice breaking. “You’re seeing the solar system in motion.”

Robin Kopaunik, 38, of Sandy, Utah, brought four of her children, ages 6 to 16, to see the eclipse in Kanarraville.

Chance of lifetime

“It’s so amazing. I think for them it’s a chance of a lifetime,” said Kopaunik, who home-schools her kids. “The best way to learn is to come out and see it.”

Despite the infrequent nature of an annular eclipse, it was part of the normal astronomical cycle, said Inese Ivans, an assistant professor of astronomy and astrophysics at the University of Utah. Still, she said it was bound to pique curiosities and inspire awe.

“It reminds us that the Earth is spinning. That everything is constantly in motion,” Ivans said.

“This sort of gives you a chance to step out and remember ‘Oh yeah’ there (is) a lot of stuff out there that we don’t know anything about.” Reports from AP, Reuters and Kristine L. Alave