October 24, 1995
Web posted at: 11:15 a.m. EDT (1515 GMT)
From Bangkok Bureau Chief Tom Mintier, New Delhi Bureau Chief Ashis Ray, and wires
NEW DELHI, India; KORAT, Thailand; and ANGKOR, Cambodia (CNN) -- From India to Thailand to Cambodia, they watched. Some celebrated, some feared evil spirits, but most just took it all in: the first total eclipse in their part of the world since 1955 -- and the last one until 2070.
It is an event that occurs each year, but virtually never in the same place in one lifetime. The people of Iran got the first look at this eclipse (527K QuickTime movie - courtesy AVN). Then the path traced across India, Burma, Thailand, Cambodia and Malaysia before fading into the Pacific Ocean.
In central Thailand, people came to a 70-kilometer-wide area by the thousands, most by car, driving six or seven hours to ensure a good seat for "the show."
They came bearing cameras, special dark glasses and telescopes. Looking at the sun directly is dangerous, and during an eclipse even more so.
"Last time when we had a total solar eclipse through Thailand, it was 40 years ago," said Rawee Pavilai, president of the Thai Astronomy Society and the country's foremost astronomer. "If we don't travel, we have to wait." For Pavilai, it was the third eclipse he had traveled to see.
As the moon slowly blotted out the sun, Thailanders gathered around TV sets in a viewing area, the safest way to watch. Others peered inside a special tent where a mirror reflected the image on a white sheet.
As the moment of totality approached (714K QuickTime movie - courtesy AVN), the sky darkened, birds became confused, and the sun disappeared. Within a few seconds, the fiery glow of the sun's normally invisible outer envelope, the corona, could be seen clearly. It is a moment that inspires the educated and terrifies the superstitious.
"Some people think the sun is a god and the moon is another god," explained astrologer Rajiv Khattar. "And the eclipse is some demon who tries to swallow the sun."
But most Thailand sun-spotters were a little more down-to-earth. "It's the most beautiful sight I have seen in my life," said one.
"I thought there would be more planets and you would see more 'great earth' things, but I think it was worth coming for," said another.
In India, many people visited temples after the event, offering prayers in elaborate ceremonies. Astrologers there had warned against worship of gods and goddesses during the eclipse. Some had gone further.
"In the past," Khattar had admonished, "whenever there's been a solar eclipse, a celebrity has died. As a result, there's been unrest in the country and the whole of society. I am expecting the same thing this time."
That was, however, dismissed by rationalists as utter nonsense. "I don't think (the eclipse) has any influence on what happens, excepting the fact that a little bit of the sun affects the atmosphere," said Bharat Sanghal.
The only impact Indians were unanimous about was the harmful effect of the eclipse on the eyes. Although the moon reduces the visible light from the sun, making it possible for people to look directly at it, the harmful ultraviolet rays remain. Blindness can result from looking at the eclipse without protection. Sellers of solar filters made a neat profit.
In Cambodia, thousands of citizens and visiting tourists marveled at the eclipse as it cast shadows over the famed temples of Angkor. Some 30,000 soldiers and police guarded against possible attacks from Khmer Rouge guerrillas.
Meanwhile, in the Philippines, where tradition holds that a giant bird swallows the sun during an eclipse, some islanders played instruments and chanted to send the bird away.
For all the wonder and ceremony, there was also tragedy Monday. A bus carrying 50 university students on an eclipse-viewing outing swerved off a road. The accident killed five people and injured 30.
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