The Sun turned into a Crescent as the Moon partially eclipsed it at 5:46 pm Malaysian time on January 26th, 2009. I photographed this rare solar eclipse from Titiwangsa Lake Gardens in Kuala Lumpur.

Another eclipse will take place on Deepavali (Diwali) November 13, 2012. However, this eclipse will be visible only from northern Australia, the southern Pacific Ocean and parts of Chile. Lucky residents of Cairns in Australia will experience a total eclipse lasting 2 minutes.

During a total eclipse, day turns into darkness. Its distinct effect on animals were observed by a team volunteers from 30 cities across India during the 2010 eclipse.

Exposure info: Olympus E-3, f22, 1/8000 sec with ND 8 filter.