Saturday, August 2, 108

Thousands witness total solar eclipse

A camel is silhouetted against the sun blocking the moon during a solar eclipse in Gaotai, Gansu province August 1, 2008.

 

Thousands witness total solar eclipse Last Updated(Beijing Time):2008-08-02 10:43
Thousands of astronomers and tourists witnessed a total solar eclipse on Friday evening in Yiwu county of the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region.

In this handout photo, the total solar eclipse is observed at 7:21 pm (1121 GMT) on Friday, Aug. 1, 2008 in north of Xi'an, capital of northwest China's Shaanxi Province. The total solar eclipse, the first that can be viewed in China in the new century, occured on Friday. [Xinhua]

The celestial event lasted two minutes, the China National Astronomical Observatory, said.

In Yiwu, one of the best places to observe the eclipse, the event happened at 7:08 pm when the moon covered the sun, Zhao Gang, vice-head of the National Astronomical Observatory under the Chinese Academy of Sciences, said.

Thousands of sky-gazers from more than 10 countries gathered at an observation square that opened on Friday in Yiwu.