DHAKA, July 22 (Xinhua) -- The long-awaited total solar eclipse was observed in northwestern corner of Bangladesh on Wednesday morning which lasted for about 3-4 minutes.
Despite the cloudy weather, tens of thousands of astronomy enthusiasts who gathered in the South Asian country's northwest most Panchagarh and Thakurgaon districts, over 400 km from capital Dhaka, observed the celestial spectacle.
Panchagarh, the nearest town to the central line of the Umbra, was earlier declared as the Capital of the Total Solar Eclipse 2009 in Bangladesh by the Total Solar Eclipse Observation Committee in Bangladesh while Thakurgaon was also considered one of the best observation places.
The total solar eclipse in Panchagarh district town started at about 07:56 a.m. local time (0056 GMT) and lasted about 3-4 minutes, when the town experienced late evening-like situation.
Crowded people were clapping their hands to celebrate what they have seen, showed live broadcast pictures of local TV channel DIGANTA.
President of the Total Solar Eclipse Observation Committee in Bangladesh, AR Khan, told Xinhua from Thakurgaon district town on Wednesday that the total solar eclipse has lasted about 3 minutes and 30 seconds according to their rough count.
"It is a rare opportunity to observe the total solar eclipse...I am proud that we could successfully observe it," Khan said, adding that some 30,000 people gathered in the Thakurgaon district town.
Wednesday's total solar eclipse is a historic event in Bangladesh as there will be no total solar eclipse observable from the country until Aug. 14, 2114, according to AR Khan, also President of Bangladesh Astronomical Society (BAS), a platform of astronomy enthusiasts established in 1984.
He said the duration of Wednesday's total solar eclipse is also the longest in the country's history.
Local private news agency the bdnews24.com said that some 30 million people in Bangladesh's northern districts, where the total solar eclipse was best observed, fell in shadow of full eclipse.
However, people in Tetulia sub-district under Panchagarh district, almost the northwest most point of Bangladesh and near border with India, missed the opportunity because of the cloudy weather.
Tetulia was also earlier considered as one of the best places to observe the total solar eclipse.
"I'm disappointed because I thought it was a lifetime thing to be experienced. But the clouds were everywhere," Nawab Nisar, who rushed there on Tuesday from capital Dhaka told Xinhua, though he observed the partial solar eclipse.
However, Nasim Akhter, a lady also from Dhaka, expressed different feeling. "I am not very much disappointed because it is also part of life. You cannot expect that every hope can be fulfilled," she said.
"I am exited to see many people gathering here to see an usual thing," said Akhter, among the hundreds of the people crowed in Tetulia.
Meanwhile, millions of people in different parts of Bangladesh including capital Dhaka had opportunities to observe the partial solar eclipse on Wednesday morning from at about 07:00 a.m. local time (0000 GMT) to at about 09:00 a.m. local time (0200 GMT).
Tens of thousands of people in the morning gathered at an observation point near the parliament building in capital city Dhaka to observed the partial solar eclipse, which is about 93 percent.
The range of the solar eclipse was between 83 percent and 100 percent eclipse throughout Bangladesh.
Different organizations including Bangladesh Astronomical Society, Bangladesh Science and Technology Museum and Bangladesh Astronomical Association as well as local governments have been busy preparing for the observation in the last weeks.
They arranged programs including seminars, video shows in many district towns of the country to create awareness among common people and explain to people what device they should use for safe observation.
They also organized observation campaign providing facilities like setting up camps in different places.
According to Bangladesh Astronomical Society, people in Bangladesh last time observed a total solar eclipse for nearly 50 seconds on Oct. 24, 1995.
On Feb. 16, 1980 there was another total solar eclipse in the country, but that one was not at all observed by many due mainly to the lack of communication.
July 22: Longest total solar eclipse
in 500 years¡¡
