South Pacific Mandate
A total solar eclipse occurred on May 9, 1929. A solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes between Earth and the Sun, thereby totally or partly obscuring the image of the Sun for a viewer on Earth. A total solar eclipse occurs when the Moon's apparent diameter is larger than the Sun's, blocking all direct sunlight, turning day into darkness. Totality occurs in a narrow path across Earth's surface, with the partial solar eclipse visible over a surrounding region thousands of kilometres wide. Totality was visible from Dutch East Indies (today's Indonesia), Federated Malay States (now belonging to Malaysia), Siam (name changed to Thailand later), French Indochina (the part now belonging to Vietnam), Spratly Islands, Philippines, and South Pacific Mandate in Japan (the part now belonging to FS Micronesia).