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Indonesia witnesses total solar eclipse

Xinhua, March 9, 2016 Adjust font size:

Indonesia experienced a total solar eclipse on Wednesday, starting from westernmost of the country and ending in eastern most of the nation, official said here.

The solar eclipse kicked off in Aceh province in northern tip of Sumatra Island at 07: 22 a.m. Jakarta time (0022 GMT) and terminated in Papua at 11 : 40 a.m. Jakarta time (0440 GMT), an official of the meteorology and geophysics agency told Xinhua by phone.

The total solar eclipse took about 2.5 minutes, the official said.

The rare event commenced at the Indian Ocean and ended at the Pacific Ocean, the official said.

"Indonesia is the only mainland area darkened by the shadow of the eclipse," he said.

Over 100 yachts from foreign countries paraded on Wednesday, and hundreds of scientists and foreign tourists visited the country and observed the eclipse.

Indonesia is home to over 17,500 islands with great cultural and ethnic diversities. Endit