Varanasi (India) witnesses total solar eclipse

[InfiniteThoughts]

Source: The Economic Times

The longest total solar eclipse of the 21st century cast its shadow over India on Wednesday. Total solar eclipse was witnessed in Varanasi. However, the eclipse could not be viewed from Taregna as the weather was bad.

Ancient superstition and modern commerce came together in a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity which could end up being the most watched eclipse in history, due to its path over Earth's most densely inhabited areas. After forming over the west coast of India, the lunar shadow or "umbra" made landfall in Gujarat shortly before 6:30 am (0100 GMT) and quickly swallowed the city of Surat, the country's diamond polishing centre.

By eclipse standards, this is "a monster," NASA eclipse expert Fred Espenak and University of Manitoba meteorologist Jay Anderson wrote in the US magazine Sky & Telescope. After an eight-minute journey across central India, it squeezed between northern Bangladesh and the eastern tip of Nepal and then sliced through some of China's biggest cities, including Chengdu, Chongqing and Wuhan, before arriving at Shanghai, a city of 20 million souls

Read more: http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/Varanasi-witnesses-total-solar-eclipse/articleshow/4805450.cms

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I watched the event on TV and there were maybe a million people who were out in Varanasi to take a holy dip right after the eclipse. Wish i was there!

[mix]

1. me too...incredible, beautiful

[Baclava]

2. Japanese video - from Iwo Jima

http://www.examiner.com/x-16352-Japan-Headlines-Examiner~y2009m7d22-Japanese-media-coverage-of-2009-Total-Solar-Eclipse-with-video-footage

Cool stuff

[arcos]

3. I saw one in 1991...

Probably the only one I'll see in my lifetime, I was just 10. But it was awesome.

I saw another in 1997, but it was far from a total eclipse. It was still cool, though.