When observing a total solar eclipse, one needed to wear special viewing glasses. Even though the Moon's shadow blocked much of the visible light, observing it directly without light-reducing equipment could easily damage the retina or even cause blindness.
One relatively simple method was to hold two strips of developed film negatives in front of one's eyes, or wear dark sunglasses. Another was to add ink to water and observe the eclipse through its reflection. After all, the entire process of a total solar eclipse lasted more than three hours—holding one's head up the whole time was exhausting.
In fact, even when the Sun's central surface was completely obscured and the sky darkened, when bats and other nocturnal creatures emerged sleepily to stir, the Sun still retained a golden ring of light to announce its presence.
People in the past had been deeply afraid of total solar eclipses, believing them to be omens of disaster. But as humanity's understanding of the world deepened, total solar eclipses had become rare astronomical phenomena. According to astronomers' estimates, a magnificent total solar eclipse would occur on August 11, 1999. It would begin over the Atlantic Ocean, sweep across Britain and the English Channel, make landfall in France at Normandy, then pass through Germany, Austria, Hungary, and Romania before crossing the Black Sea into Turkey, Iraq, Iran, Pakistan, and India, finally vanishing over the Indian Ocean.
Astronomers were very interested in this eclipse. Although total solar eclipses could now be predicted precisely, unusual phenomena that were difficult to foresee could still occur. In fact, it was because of a total solar eclipse that Einstein's theory of gravitational curvature in relativity had been proven. It was a little like someone standing on a trampoline and creating a curved surface; photons were like balls rolling across