July 22: A partial solar eclipse silhouettes birds surrounding a minaret of the shrine of Sufi Saint Bah-ud-din Zakria in Multan, Pakistan. (AP)
July 22: A total solar eclipse is seen in Baihata, India. (AP)
July 22: A partial solar eclipse is seen in Baihata, 22 miles west of Gauhati, India. (AP)
July 22: In this photo released by Xinhua News Agency, the Baily's Beads of solar eclipse is seen in southwest China's Chongqing Municipality, at 9:16 a.m. Hundreds of millions of people across China, India and Japan will witness the longest solar eclipse of the century on Wednesday. (AP)
July 22: A partial solar eclipse is seen behind the Golden Temple, a Sikhs holiest shrine, in Amritsar, India. Millions watched, though others, seeing the rare event as a bad omen, shuttered themselves indoors.
July 22: In this photo released by China's Xinhua News Agency, total solar eclipse is seen in southwest China's Chongqing Municipality, at 9:16 a.m. Asia witness 21st century's longest eclipse on Wednesday. (AP2009)
July 22: A partial solar eclipse is seen at Tatsugou town in Amamioshima, southern Island of Japan. The longest solar eclipse of the 21st century pitched a swath of Asia from India to China into near darkness Wednesday as millions gathered in the open to watch the once-in-a-lifetime phenomenon. (AP)
July 22: A partial solar eclipse is seen in Yanguan town, Haining City, China. Scientists, students and nature enthusiasts prepared Tuesday for the longest total solar eclipse of the 21st century, while millions planned to shutter themselves indoors, giving in to superstitious myths about the phenomenon.
July 22: In this photo released by China's Xinhua News Agency, solar eclipse is seen in Yinchuan, capital of northwest China's Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, at 8:33 a.m. Scientists, students and nature enthusiasts gathered in open spaces in parts of India Wednesday to watch the longest total solar eclipse of the 21st century, although heavy cloud cover and overnight rains threatened to spoil the party. ( (AP)
July 21: Three women try out solar view goggles after a demonstration on safely watching a solar eclipse at Science City in Ahmadabad, India. Millions of people across Asia will witness the longest total solar eclipse that will happen this century, as vast swathes of India and China, the entire city of Shanghai and southern Japanese islands are plunged into darkness Wednesday for about five minutes.
July 21: A teacher shows schoolgirls how to use goggles to safely watch Wednesday's solar eclipse in Allahabad, India.
A graphic shows the path of the solar eclipse and the areas of visibility.
Filipino Muslims use a neutral density photo filter to view a partial solar eclipse in Manila, Philippines. (AP)
In this Friday, Aug. 1, 2008 file photo, a total solar eclipse is observed above the Siberian city of Novosibirsk, Russia. (AP)