August 1, 2008
Watch a video of the Eclipse
Millons of people around the globe found them selves looking shyward as a spectacular solar eclipse unfurled today. The eclipse, which was the first since 2006, was visible throughout all of Europe, Asia, and parts of Canada as far south as New Brunswic. For us here in the U.S. the eclipse had finnished before the sun rose. During a solar eclipse the moon passes between the earth and sun, blocking the sun's light. In Norway's far northern Svalbard archipelago in the main settlement of Longyearbyen one estimate had a temperature drop of about 10 degrees Celsius during the eclipse. The next solar eclipse wont take place untill July 22, 2009.
"It was a special experience. The colours of the houses completely changed. The light went more white than usual," local guide Sigmund Andersen told NTB news agency.
"When such rare things happen one gets the impression something supernatural has taken place." Thes same words were thought in 585 BCE when "the Lydians and Medes were engaged in battle in what is present-day Turkey. The Greek historian Herodotus recorded that at the height of a particularly fierce battle, darkness fell upon the land. Apparently the two armies waged a war close to the path of a solar eclipse. The armies took this as a sign and stopped fighting instantly, making peace with each other."
This is the view from Xiangfan in central China's Hubei province.
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| moscow | Novosibirsk | New Delhi | Russia |
Alert, Canada
Arctic Bay, Canada
