Eclipse proves quite a spectacle

By Lucy Hornby  |   2008-8-2  |     NEWSPAPER EDITION

Star turn ... an ethnic Uygur woman observes the solar eclipse in Yiwu County of northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region yesterday. Thousands of sky gazers from more than 10 countries gathered at an observation square in Yiwu, one of the best viewing places. The total solar eclipse lasted two minutes. More in photo gallery

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DARKNESS fell yesterday over the last outpost of the Great Wall, where a rare total solar eclipse delighted skywatchers a week before the Olympic Games open in Beijing.

The dramatic spectacle - when the moon passes between the sun and the Earth - began in Canada, tracked across Greenland and crept into Siberia, before ending at sunset in China.

In northwest China, cheers went up from the Jiayuguan Fort as excited tourists welcomed the eclipse.

"It's really doubly special, because I'm standing here on the Great Wall and watching it," said Feng Lei, a backpacker from the southwestern province of Sichuan, who was making his way to Beijing for the Olympics.

Many Chinese view this eclipse as particularly fortunate, since it comes just before the torch is lit in Beijing for the Games.

"I have a really deep feeling, especially because it's exactly eight days before the Olympics," said Chuai Rui, a college student from Xi'an. Chinese consider eight a lucky number.

In Russia, thousands had flocked from around the world to Novosibirsk, awe mixed with excitement as day turned into night. They gazed in wonder as an eerie silence descended on the Siberian city and gusts of unusually strong wind tore through the crowd. Birds stopped chirping and the temperature suddenly dropped.

"It's very dramatic and awe-inspiring when the darkness suddenly comes," said Jay Pasachoff, a professor at Williams College who led a team to Novosibirsk for his 47th eclipse.

In northern Europe, a partial eclipse also drew thousands.

"There's a strange light now," said Norwegian astronomer and popular author Knut Jorgen Roed Odegaard as the midday light in Oslo grew slightly dimmer with a silvery sharpness. Families crowded into a park to watch images transmitted from an air force plane in the Arctic.

"You just feel part of nature ... This is so rare," said Lev, a software specialist in St Petersburg.