People have gazed at the sky in wonder and cheered while others have knelt in prayer as a total eclipse of the sun unfolded over Indonesia, briefly plunging cities into darkness and startling wildlife.
The rare astronomical phenomenon was witnessed along a narrow path that stretched across 12 Indonesian provinces, encompassing three time zones and about 40 million people on Wednesday.
A partial eclipse was visible in other parts of the Indonesian archipelago, a swath of Asia and in northern Australia.
Thousands of eclipse chasers flocked to Indonesia from abroad and the government, which has been promoting the event for more than a year, forecast a substantial tourism boost.
Some tour groups chartered ships to view the eclipse, which began in the Indian Ocean and ended in the Pacific, at sea.
A dozen Americans joined a commercial flight from Anchorage, Alaska to Honolulu because its flight path would rendezvous with an eclipse sweet spot north of Hawaii.
Thousands of men, women and children gathered in Sigi Biromaru, a hilltop town of Indonesia's Central Sulawesi province, shouting and clapping as the sun transformed into a dark orb for more than two minutes. Hundreds of others prayed at nearby mosques.
"The sun totally disappeared. How amazing this sunny morning suddenly changed to dark," said Junaz Amir, a Sigi resident who witnessed the eclipse with his family using protective glasses.
In Ternate, one of the last cities in the eclipse's path, some residents said they were viewing it by looking at the reflected image in bowls of water.
Experts say the total eclipse can be viewed with the naked eye but specific filters should be used during its partial phases to avoid permanent damage to the retina.
Most eclipses are partial but when the moon is close enough to the earth, the sun is completely eclipsed by the moon's shadow and only a spectacular ring of rays known as the corona is visible.
The last time a total eclipse occurred over Indonesia was in 1988. Unfounded fears and misinformation caused panic, with people papering windows and keeping children indoors.
The entire eclipse, which began with the first patch of darkness appearing on the edge of the sun, lasted about three hours.
For the viewer, the length of time the sun was totally eclipsed depended on their location along the path.
On land the durations were mostly between one and three minutes.
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