PIt was a little after 1:00 pm when the moon completely covered the sun, leaving only a halo of multicolored gas to shine, which gave pink, green and blue tones to the clouds, the sea and even the sand where the so-called “shadow fringes” are made visible.
Catalin Beldea, an amateur astronomer from Romania, who traveled to Timor-Leste on purpose – this is the 14th total eclipse he has witnessed in “six and a half continents” – explained to Lusa that this is one of the characteristics of the moments of eclipses.
Thin lines that alternate light and dark move in parallel undulations, resulting from random patterns of thin air turbulence and refracting sunlight passing through the eclipse, he said.
“I follow eclipses all over the world. I’m an amateur astronomer, I have a show on astronomy, which travels throughout Romania, explaining to young people and the rest of the population the magic of eclipses, but of space in general”, explained Beldea.
“The eclipse is something fantastic and we experience it with all our senses. It gets cooler, the wind increases and the darkness grows. Now, fortunately, we can even transmit these phenomena live to the whole world”, he said, adding that the the next one he will attend will be “in Mexico or the United States”.
Most of those who traveled east today took eight hours by car, four in each direction, to witness a unique moment for the population.
Lying on the floor, eclipse glasses on their faces — in recent weeks offers of small cardboard glasses have multiplied in various places, with greater or lesser quality — the curious followed the eclipse.
The temperature dropped, the wind increased slightly and the sea became more agitated.
“Yes, some people describe it as a mystical experience. The sun disappears. There is a big black hole in the sky and then just the corona effect. That circle is everything to us, it’s like the sun’s atmosphere, a gas million degrees. And the Earth lives under the effects of this great corona”, explained the amateur astronomer.
A few kilometers further on, in Com, where thousands of people were, including Timorese and foreigners, in this case tourists, astronomers and onlookers, the screams were also heard at the moment of the eclipse.
The Timorese authorities prepared a big party for Com, which even included a concert on Wednesday night, prompting many to travel to the area beforehand, occupying all available accommodation or preferring to camp on the beach or elsewhere.
In the Presidency of the Republic, the head of state, José Ramos-Horta, followed the phenomenon through a live link – also broadcast on public RTTL television – to a telescope that amateur astronomer Luis Morales purposely went to buy in Australia.
This connection made it possible to project the eclipse on a giant screen at the site — and which even included live and ‘streaming’ links from Com, made by a team of more than 25 astronomers from Southeast Asia who also traveled to the country for the purpose.
In recent weeks, several Timorese authorities have alerted the population to the risks of looking directly at the sun.
The warnings, added to unilateral decisions by the police — which even announced a ban on circulation across the country — led many, frightened, not even to leave their homes.
For others, the Timorese and foreigners who witnessed and lived it, it will certainly be a unique experience to tell.
Also Read: A rare hybrid solar eclipse was observed in Australia. see the pictures
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