Total eclipse wows Asia

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Total eclipse wows Asia

Rare total solar eclipse

The longest solar eclipse of the 21st century pitched a swath of Asia from India to China (above) into near darkness Wednesday as millions gathered to watch the phenomenon.

Tourists watch a partial solar eclipse through a solar film at India's famed Taj Mahal. In the northern Indian state of Punjab, authorities ordered schools to begin an hour late to prevent children from venturing out and gazing at the sun.

It is the longest such eclipse since July 11, 1991, when a total eclipse lasting 6 minutes, 53 seconds was visible from Hawaii to South America. There will not be a longer eclipse than Wednesday's until 2132. Above, Yinchuan, China.

A seal wears sunglasses during a solar eclipse event at Sunshine International Aquarium in Tokyo Wednesday.

The Taj Mahal in Agra, India, glows in the early-morning eclipse light.

The Baily's Beads of solar eclipse is seen in southwest China's Chongqing Municipality.

A man watches the solar eclipse through special sunglasses at the Nehru Planetarium in New Delhi, India. Millions gazed at the skies, but millions more shuttered themselves in, gripped by fearful myths in a country that abounds in Hindu mythology-based superstitions and fables, one of which says an eclipse is caused when a dragon-demon swallows the sun.

People look at a partial solar eclipse seen in Yanguan town, Haining City, China. The eclipse -- visible only in Asia -- moved north and east from India to Nepal, Myanmar, Bangladesh, Bhutan and China.

The sun during its partial eclipse phase Wednesday morning. The eclipse is caused when the moon covers the sun completely to cast a shadow on earth. In some parts of Asia it lasted as long as 6 minutes and 39 seconds.

A South Korean woman watches the solar eclipse through special sunglasses in Seoul.

South Korean student Kang Min-suck watches the solar eclipse through a special filter at Yonsei University in Seoul.

Japanese (above) camped out for the celestial event. In India, even in regions where the eclipse was not visible, pregnant women were advised to stay indoors in curtained rooms over a belief that the sun's invisible rays would harm the fetus and the baby would be born with disfigurations, birthmarks or a congenital defect.

Yu Garden is darkened by a solar eclipse in Shanghai, China.

Vietnamese students and faculy gather around a telescope to watch the solar eclipse at an observatory in Hanoi.

A woman uses a cell phone to takes picture of a solar eclipse at Yu Garden in Shanghai. "We'll have to wait a few hundred years for another opportunity to observe a solar eclipse that lasts this long, so it's a very special opportunity," said Shao Zhenyi, an astronomer at the Shanghai Astronomical Observatory.

Thousands of Hindus took a dip in keeping with the ancient belief that bathing in the river at Varanasi, especially on special occasions, cleanses one's sins. Above, people in New Delhi watch a reflection of the eclipse Wednesday.

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The longest solar eclipse of the 21st century pitched a swath of Asia from India to China (above) into near darkness Wednesday as millions gathered to watch the phenomenon.

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