Hundreds of people thronged into the Hong Kong Space Museum on Wednesday morning for the Partial Solar Eclipse Observation activity.

A total solar eclipse was observed near the Yangtze River of the Chinese mainland on Wednesday morning, which is the longest such eclipse this century. In Hong Kong, however, only a partial solar eclipse with 75 percent of the solar disc covered by the moon's silhouette was visible.

To facilitate members of the public to view this astronomical event, the Hong Kong Space Museum organized the Partial Solar Eclipse Observation activity on Wednesday from 8:00 AM to 11:00 AM. The public watched the eclipse using telescopes equipped with a safe filtering system and projection under guidance provided by the Space Museum.

A solar eclipse occurs when the sun is obscured by the moon. It is an occasion when the sun, the moon and the Earth are in near alignment, and the Earth moves into the moon's umbra or penumbra.

(Xinhua News Agency July 23, 2009)