Photos: Total eclipse darkens swath of Asia
People gazed at the sky in wonder and cheered while others knelt in prayer as a total eclipse of the sun unfolded over Indonesia on Wednesday, 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. A partial eclipse was visible in other parts of the Indonesian archipelago, a swath of Asia and in northern Australia.
Banda Aceh, Indonesia. (Chaideer Mahyuddin / AFP/Getty Images)
Ternate, Maluku Islands, Indonesia. (Andre Adrian / EPA)
Manila. (Francis R. Malasig / EPA)
Maluku Islands, Indonesia. (Bay Ismoyo / AFP/Getty Images)
Palembang, Indonesia. (Abdul Qodir / AFP/Getty Images)
This photo combo shows the moon passing in front of the sun as seen from Ternate, Indonesia. (Bay Ismoyo / AFP/Getty Images)
Bhubaneswar, India. (Biswaranjan Rout / Associated Press)
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