A total eclipse of the sun is one of nature's most spectacular and awe-inspiring sights. For sheer beauty and magnificence, perhaps no celestial phenomenon can compare with it. On July 11, such an eclipse took place over the South Pacific. For the hundreds of lucky observers who ventured to French P...

A total eclipse of the sun is one of nature's most spectacular and awe-inspiring sights. For sheer beauty and magnificence, perhaps no celestial phenomenon can compare with it. On July 11, such an eclipse took place over the South Pacific. For the hundreds of lucky observers who ventured to French Polynesia and Easter Island, they saw the sun disappear for up to 4.5 minutes. Among them was Edwin Aguirre, the science and technology writer in UMass Lowell's Public Affairs Office. He and his wife, Imelda Joson, led a group of nearly 40 eclipse enthusiasts to Tatakoto, a tiny isolated atoll in French Polynesia's eastern Tuamotu Archipelago. www.uml.edu