개기일식을 본다

아프리카 가나 토고등에서 시작하여 가장 잘 보인고

저녁 시간 몽고에서 대낮에 일어난 밤이 끝난다고 한다.

토고에선 눈을 보호하여 태양을 볼 수 있는 장구가 없으면 개기일식이

일어나는 그 때는 집안에 머물라고 방송도했다고한다. 완전히 가리는

시간은 불과 1~2분이라한다. 미신도 나타나 임산부가 보면 언챙이가

출생한다고 했으며 다음 개기일식은 2008년이라한다. 2003년에도 있었다한다

Ukrainian man watches a partial solar eclipse through a film in Kiev, Ukraine, Wednesday, March 29, 2006.

The moon began blocking out the sun in the morning in Brazil before the path of greatest blockage migrated t

o Africa, then on to Turkey and up into Mongolia, where it will fade out with the sunset. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)

This TV image provided by NASA Wednesday March 29, 2006 shows two solar flares seen at the top of the disk

during the total solar eclipse captured in Turkey's Mediterranean town of Side. The last such eclipse in November

2003 was best viewed from Antarctica, said Alex Young, a NASA scientist involved in solar research. Total eclipses

are rare because they require the tilted orbits of the sun, moon and earth to line up exactly so that the moon obscures

the sun completely. The next total eclipse will occur in 2008. (AP Photo/NASA)

World Treated to Rare Total Eclipse of Sun

By KWASI KPODO, Associated Press Writer 16 minutes ago

ACCRA, Ghana - Schoolchildren cheered as the first total eclipse in years plunged Ghana into daytime darkness Wednesday, a solar show sweeping northeast from Brazil to Mongolia.

As the heavens and Earth moved into rare alignment, all that could be seen of the sun were the rays of its corona

? the usually invisible extended atmosphere of the sun that glowed a dull yellow for about three minutes, barely

illuminating the west African nation.

Automatic street lights flickered on, authorities sounded whistles and schoolchildren burst into applause across

Ghana's capital, Accra. Many in the deeply religious country of Christians and Muslims said the phenomenon

bolstered their faith.

"I believe it's a wonderful work of God, despite all what the scientists say," said Solomon Pomenya, a 52-year

old doctor. "This tells me that God is a true engineer."

The last such eclipse in November 2003 was best viewed from Antarctica, said Alex Young, a NASA scientist

involved in solar research.

In Turkey's Mediterranean town of Side, hundreds of people streamed down a main street, some carrying tripods,

to an ancient Greek temple dedicated to Apollo, as market sellers hawked T-shirts and protective glasses.

Joaquim Boix traveled from Barcelona, Spain, to view the eclipse. He said he became addicted to eclipses after

seeing one in Germany.

"It's fantastic," Boix said. "It's the color, the metallic blue-green color on the skin of the people. The sky with the stars

in the background. Usually you watch the stars in a black background ... The background is blue. It's a special feeling."

An ancient Roman theater in Side, astronomers and scientists from NASA and the San Francisco-based Exploratorium science museum made last-minute preparations for a live broadcast. The theater, which had a capacity of 15,000

in ancient times, was expected to host 2,000 people.

"It's one of those experiences that makes you feel like you're part of the larger universe," said NASA astronomer

Janet Luhman.

Tens of thousands of tourists were expected along the Turkish Mediterranean coast, which NASA said would be

the best spot to view the eclipse. Turks welcomed the tourism boost after a recent bird flu outbreak and protests

over the caricatures of Islam's Prophet Muhammad.

"It should happen more often," said Hamza Bikmaz who was selling eclipse T-shirts outside the theater.

From Ghana to Libya and Syria, schools closed and streets emptied. West African governments scrambled

to educate people about the dangers of looking at the eclipse without proper eye protection.

In Togo, authorities imported hundreds of thousands of pairs of special glasses that consumers cleared rapidly

from shelves in the capital, Lome. But villagers in the interior did not have access to the eyewear and officials

called on them to stay home.

"Imagine if your hair was to stand up from static electricity, that's kind of what the corona looks like all around the sun," NASA's Young said. But the corona's light can burn eyes.

In Ghana people spent about $1 for "solar shades" ? paper-rimmed glasses with dark plastic lenses that resemble

eyewear used for 3-D movies.

The eclipse was expected to move on to Mongolia, where it will fade out with the sunset.

Superstition accompanied its path, as it has for generations.

One Indian paper advised pregnant women not to go outside during the eclipse to avoid having a blind baby or one

with a cleft lip. Food cooked before the eclipse should be thrown out afterward because it will be impure and those

who are holding a knife or ax during the eclipse will cut themselves, the Hindustan Times added.

In Turkey's earthquake-prone Tokat province, residents set up tents outside despite assurances from scientists

that there was no evidence of any link between eclipses and tremors.

In August 1999, an earthquake in northwestern Turkey killed some 17,000 people just six days after a solar eclipse.

Total eclipses are rare because they require the tilted orbits of the sun, moon and earth to line up exactly so that

the moon obscures the sun completely. The next total eclipse will occur in 2008.