Sun Stages Spectacular Show Despite Weather : Eclipse: Many who traveled to Hawaii were unable to view event. Those who did see it were left awe-struck.

High clouds and even a rare 14,000-foot fog bank threatened to douse Thursday’s eclipse of the century, but in the end old Sol won out and put on a show that more than matched its billing.

“If you are only going to see one eclipse in your lifetime, this was the one to see,” said Donald Hall, director of the University of Hawaii’s Institute for Astronomy.

Unfortunately, thousands who traveled great distances to witness this “once-in-a-lifetime event” were unable to see it because of dense clouds that blanketed much of the island of Hawaii.

For a while, it appeared that even this observatory, which normally offers nearly perfect viewing conditions, would be blacked out by the weather. Just as the eclipse began, a dense fog bank rolled over the summit and threatened to engulf the sun--something that almost never happens at this 13,796-foot elevation, Hall said.

But it rose no farther, hovering just below the sun and leaving this majestic peak poking through the clouds and reaching for the heavens.

Although high cirrus clouds and dust from the eruption of Mt. Pinatubo in the Philippines hampered some of the data gathering, scientists reported that overall they are satisfied with the results.

Some scientists said the eclipse was a textbook example because nearly everything that could occur actually occurred.

As the moment of totality approached, the sky grew darker and darker, and the red volcanic mountains that surround this peak turned black.

At 7:28 a.m., the moon passed completely in front of the sun, sending temperatures on top of this barren mountain plunging several degrees into the 20s.

The sun had disappeared, but in its place appeared a most spectacular creation--the black face of the moon, surrounded by the brilliant, glowing atmosphere of the sun.

It was enough to make a politician struggle for words. Hawaii Gov. John Waihee, who was born at the foot of Mauna Kea, thrust his binoculars into the hands of an aide.

“You want to see something, really see something?” he shouted, and then he stared in silence at gases blowing off the sun 1 million miles out in space.

The sun saved its best for last. Just as the total eclipse began to end, a ray of sunlight darted through a valley on the surface of the moon, giving the sun a diamond ring effect.

The diamond ring is the most cherished of all gifts from an eclipse, and this one blazed in the sky like a crown jewel.

And then, just as quickly as it had begun, the eclipse ended.

The sun once again claimed its role as the dominant force in this corner of the universe, chasing away the night and easing the chill of the morning air.

“It’s amazing,” mumbled physicist Akio Morita, chairman of the Sony Corp.

He came here to see the eclipse because another will not pass over this mountain for more than 100 years. “I’ll not be back again next century,” he said.

For several teams of scientists, it was the chance of a lifetime because the eclipse, most fortunately, passed directly over some of the most sophisticated telescopes in the world. These instruments normally study distant objects, and there was concern over whether all of them could even be pointed low enough in the sky to capture the morning sun, but in the end nearly everything worked out.

“Mostly, after an eclipse, you hear tales of woe about things that had gone wrong,” Hall said. “That didn’t happen here.”

In fact, the only problem of any real significance was the weather. Dust from Mt. Pinatubo, high over the Pacific, scattered some light from the sun.

That created background “noise” for some of the experiments, just as a dirty windshield makes it difficult to see the highway in the glare of the sun. Some scientists were concerned over how clear their results will be.

That is particularly true for scientists who were seeking evidence of a ring of dust surrounding the sun, which some theorists believe should be there. The high, cirrus clouds also confused the picture for scientists who were studying the sun’s atmosphere, called the corona, because the clouds look a lot like parts of the corona.

Though the view from the mountain top was clear, “It was a miserable sky” for data gathering instruments, said Robert MacQueen, who had hoped to learn much about the corona during the eclipse.

The weather degraded the results to the point that “we’ve got a formidable task” to sort out the results, MacQueen said.

Most scientists, however, were a bit more optimistic.

The eclipse, for example, allowed three teams of scientists to make exacting measurements of the temperature and density of the various layers of the sun’s corona as the moon sliced off different sections.

Scientists have long been mystified by the fact that the outer atmosphere is 300 times hotter than the surface of the sun.

Results from the eclipse may tell them why. John Jefferies of the National Optical Astronomical Observatories said his team found that at the region where the outer atmosphere grows hotter, it also grows more dense.

As they study the changes in density over the coming weeks, scientists may be able to determine the mechanism that causes the atmosphere to grow hotter, Jefferies said.

Despite the fact that weather here blocked out the view for about half of the 30,000 to 35,000 who came to see it, this eclipse is believed to have been seen by more people than any other eclipse in history.

The eclipse’s path crossed Mexico and Central America to Brazil. At least 30,000 people traveled to Baja to watch the eclipse. Thousands packed the beaches, where temperatures had passed 80 degrees and were rising by midmorning. Cruise ships were anchored off the coast.

In Mexico City, the world’s most populous capital, street lights came on and cars pulled to the side of the road as the eclipse cast an eerie twilight chill over the city.

Sport stadiums turned on their spotlights, fireworks lit up the darkened sky and thousands huddled in the main square, the Zocalo.

Those who were not able to see it in person will have several opportunities to experience the event vicariously.

Teams of photographers from around the world came here to record the event for everything from a “Nova” television segment to a high-definition TV special for Japan.

Many of those who came here to watch the eclipse have seen many others, including the University of Hawaii’s Hall.

But this one, he added, was “more beautiful than I’ve ever seen before.”