It came, we saw, it left

The total solar eclipse last week saw people from all walks of life take to the high points of Thimphu to watch the moon swallow the sun. A German astronomer, Lothar Kurtze, had flown into the country especially to observe the phenomenon.
Bhutan is Lothar Kurtze’s fifth country apart from Germany, Madagascar, Libya and Galapagos Islands in Ecuador, where he has observed different solar eclipses. “This eclipse is historic and it’s a bonus to watch it in Bhutan,” he said.
Starting at six in the morning, the moon started to take away the sun. Lothar Kurtz said the sun was 8 degrees above the horizon which is actually difficult in a mountainous country like Bhutan.
As the moon covered about 75% of the sun, it became darker.
When 95% of the sun was covered by the moon, only the thin outer rim of the sun was visible. As the last bit of the sun remained, the corona appeared and ring around the moon got brighter. “That is the first contact in a solar eclipse,” said Lothar Kurtze.
A silver white halo formed around the black ball of the lunar disc, often referred to as “God’s eye.’ Adding more beauty to the sky was the appearance of other planets like Mercury on the left below the sun and Venus on the right above the sun.
Around 6:58 in the morning, the sun was at a height of 20 degrees above horizon and the temperature was at about 10,000 degrees in Bhutan, he said.
At Dochula, with sophisticated cameras and binoculars with filters, tourists watched the eclipse. A young French couple hugged and said they would remember this moment forever.
However, in Babesa, people were said to have drummed empty containers to drive away the evil from consuming the sun. This is a manifestation of local superstitions. Others recited prayers and lit butter lamps.
The total solar eclipse lasted about four minutes seven seconds in eastern Bhutan and the longest was recorded at six minutes thirty three seconds in the Pacific Ocean.
The eclipse first became total over India at 00:53 GMT, and was last visible from land at Nikumaroro Island in the South Pacific nation of Kiribati. It ended at 04:18 GMT.