The sun is blocked by the moon in this dramatic eclipse photographed in Western Australia Tuesday

February 16, 1999
Web posted at: 10:06 a.m. EST (1506 GMT)

SYDNEY, Australia (AP) -- A partial solar eclipse swept over parts of Australia on Tuesday, a celestial event that some Aboriginal tribes believe means the sun is mating with the moon after a passionate courtship.

The spectacle took place, appropriately enough, just two days after St. Valentine's Day.

The partial solar eclipse began at about 5:40 p.m. (0640 GMT) with the moon appearing to nip a bite out of the sun.

Hundreds of astronomers traveled north of Perth in Western Australia to train their telescopes on the sky to observe the dramatic "ring of fire" when more than 99 percent of the sun is eclipsed.

Partial eclipses usually occur every one to two years, although the next is not expected until December 4, 2002.

Australian Aborigines believe a solar eclipse is an event of deep cosmological significance.

Arunta Aborigines from the central desert region believe the moon is associated with love and fertility. Girls are warned not to look at the moon if they don't want to become pregnant.

The Arunta believe the Sun is in love with the Moon and pursues it across the sky each day. An eclipse happens when the sun catches its longed-for lover and their rare union occurs, an event worthy of great celebration.

In another Aboriginal legend, the roles are reversed and Bahloo the Moon God, suffers sexual harassment from the promiscuous Yhi, the Sun Goddess.

"Bahloo remained in the sky for a long time, and while he was there, Yhi, the Sun Goddess, fell in love with him," A.W. Reed recounted in his 1980 book, Aboriginal Stories of Australia.

In Perth, 90 percent of the sun was obscured, while in Sydney, the moon covered 56 percent of the sun.

Astronomers warned people against viewing the eclipse directly and recommended constructing a pinhole camera.

Others watched the eclipse on television, from observatories through a telescope with special filters, or on Internet web sites.

Peter Birch from the Perth Observatory traveled to the Hampton Arms pub 18 miles (30 kilometers) south of Geraldton to watch the eclipse with other astronomers from the United States, Britain, France, Japan and Germany.

He said thousands of amateur skygazers joined 300 to 400 astronomers in the fields around the pub.

"The moon went completely inside the sun, all we could see was a ring of light," he said. "It got quite cold, the atmosphere went an orangy, yellowy shade."

Copyright 1999   The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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