Top > World > 2006 > March > 2006-03-30

Solar Eclipse Viewed Around the World

Skygazers around the world had a chance to view a total solar eclipse on Wednesday. The solar show swept from Brazil to Mongolia and blotting out the sun across swathes of the world`s poorest lands. Wednesday`s eclipse will block the sun in highly populated areas, including West Africa. NASA said Turkey was the best spot to view the eclipse, and tens of thousands of tourists were expected along the Turkish Mediterranean coast.

For the first time, thanks to a partnership with the University of California at Berkeley and San Francisco`s Exploratorium, NASA was to allow schools, museums and the media all over the globe to witness the eclipse via NASA webcasts, podcasts and live video feeds live from Turkey as part of the Sun-Earth Day program.

A total solar eclipse occurs when the Moon completely covers the face of the Sun as seen from the Earth`s surface. The track of the Moon`s shadow across Earth is called the "path of totality". The moon first began blocking out the sun in the morning in Brazil before the migrating to Africa, then on to Turkey and up into Mongolia, where it will fade out with the sunset.