The Eclipse: Russia - World shares a strange ceremony of science, superstition and awe
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.VISITORS TO the Black Sea resort of Sochi - where the eclipse was 98 per cent - peered skywards through chunks of smoke-blackened broken glass or ordinary glasses with film negatives Sellotaped over them.
Safety warnings appeared to have fallen on deaf ears generally: one paper advised readers to look at the blocked-out Sun through a hand-made viewer made from a rolled-up copy of the newspaper with a piece of paper at one end.
A live programme devoted to the eclipse on NTV television, one of the main national channels, was bombarded with questions from viewers: what will the effect of an eclipse be on someone who is born today? What kind of fate can that person expect? How dangerous is an eclipse? Will it have any influence on President Boris Yeltsin and, if so, how?
The three cosmonauts orbiting Earth on the Russian space station Mir became the first people to see from space how the Moon's shadow travelled over the Earth during the eclipse.
NTV showed film from the cosmonauts - two Russians and a Frenchman - in which a vast black shadow sailed over Plymouth before heading over northern France.
"This has never been seen before by anyone; no one has ever seen this before from space," said Viktor Blagov, deputy flight controller.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments