Introduction

Champagne corks flew and thousands cheered the touchdown of the millennium's last total solar eclipse happened Wednesday August 11th. A dancing Druid couldn't keep the rain and cloud cover from obscuring views of the sun, but pitch-black daytime skies darkened by the moon's shadow impressed nevertheless.

Many people proclaimed, "I won't see anything like this again," "It's absolutely marvelous," "I won't live to see the next one." A total solar eclipse is not expected to be visible from Britain for another 91 years. Spectators prayed for the rain clouds to go away and their prayers were answered. This eclipse was a special moment. The eclipse of 1999's shadow crossed over the southwestern tip of England the first land mass in the so-called path of totality bathing Britain in an eerie darkness created when the moon passes between earth and the sun.

Why is it such a Rare Event?

The eclipse lasted only a couple of minutes in any one place, speeding at 1,500 miles an hour over France, Germany, Austria, Romania, Iraq and Iran. Three hours after touching down on Earth, the moon's shadow reached India, then blended into sunset in the Bay of Bengal. Millions used pin-hole cameras and special glasses to catch a glimpse at the eclipse. An estimated 2 billion people were in the path of the eclipse, making it potentially the most viewed such event in history.

Over the millennia, eclipses have held a mystic sway over much of the globe. The ancient Greeks and Romans thought the darkened daytime skies were a sign of impending doom and forbade public assemblies during eclipses. Mexicans believed they were a fight between the sun and moon. Even in a high-tech age, that mystical connection still rang true.

The eclipse viewed in England still put on quite a show. For several minutes, Marazion and nearby Penzance were in complete darkness. The ever-present seagulls hushed, confused by the change in light. Street lamps on the roads that line the beaches around the coastal bay switched on automatically until it became light again. Eclipse watchers packed piers and beaches, where eclipse mania has been in full swing for months. In the end, Cornwall officials estimated that they packed in more than 1 million visitors, far fewer than local businesses had expected. Britain's last full eclipse, in 1927, also lost out to the weather.

Quotes and pictures provided by microsoft.com