All the stuff that's fit to link about the thickest ring of fire of the millennium

And it's a lot: The annular eclipse with the smallest lunar/solar diameter ratio of the 3rd millennium (or the thickest ring - or the longest duration when near the point of maximum eclipse) of 15 January has been observed widely all along its track from Central and Eastern Africa over the Maldives, India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Myanmar and China, and pictures and reports are still coming in 9 days later. Thanks to TwitPic as well as eager Indian journalists, the small tour led by yours truly to Varkala, Kerala, India, and our results were mentioned quite often; these links are marked by an asterisk (*).

First some general galleries by Universe Today* (the only ones who asked for permission to use our pictures, by the way), SciBuff* (more*), Facebook*, InFuture* (in Russian!), SpaceWeather, KC Star, Telegraph, Nat'l Geographic, StumbleUpon, DJMick, BBC, ABC, Hindu, IndiaToday, HuffPost, Yahoo, Flickr, LifeBob and FunZug. Numerous reports are linked by SoFi2010 or published on EclipseChasers; there's also a chaotic video collage. Now individual reports from the annularity strip:

• From the Central African Republic come this, this and this image, from Uganda a spectacular video with Baily's Beads and a report and from Kenya a picture from Mt. Kenya at almost 5000 meters, a report, some pictures (more) and a report from Lake Nakuru, and from Nairobi a report. From the Maldives we have reports and pictures from Male (more), Ellaidhoo (APOD), Summer Island Village, Club Faru (more), Rangali and Meerufenfushi (more) - while a diver was caught by surprise. On a ship off the Maldives the eclipse was also observed during India's first-ever eclipse cruise.
  
  
• From India a Wiki on the eclipse (announcement) and a very detailled report by S.P.A.C.E. on events all over India (picture collection; alt.). From Varkala near the Northern edge pictures by yours truly* (access the earlier ones through the thumbnails on the right), T. Kampschulte*, W. v. Kerkhof* and a S.P.A.C.E. expedition: a Beads composite (two single images and a recording of their webcast). Also a report by accidental tourists. From Thiruvanantapuram & Kovalam these and these pictures, a report and a another one. From Rameswaram & Dhanushkodi a looong report (more, more and more) and pictures here (used for this funny composite), here, here, here and here. And from Kanyakumari a report (earlier) and pictures here, here, here, here and here.
  
  
• From Sri Lanka a blog report, another and another one (pictures; preparations) from a politically charged trip to Jaffna, where also these pictures come from. Plus a commentary on new vs. old media coverage of the eclipse. From Myanmar these and these pictures from Shwe Bo City. And from China a collection and pictures and reports from Shenyang, Weizhan Lake, Qingdao, Zhengzhou and Kalfeng. Some impressions from the zone of partiality come from Pune, Bhuj, Bangalore, Delhi (more), Manila (AAPOD - clever setup; more), Beijing (another surprise observation; more) and Sounio.

News coverage of the eclipse was generous - first from individual countries. From Uganda this story. From the Maldives this story and a strange one (relating to this fringe science). From India a TV debate on eclipse superstitions (also this clip) and stories here, here*, here*, here*, here* (more*), here*, here, here, here (alt.), here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here and here. Specifically about sounding rockets fired for geophysical studies during the eclipse are an ISRO Press Release and stories here, here, here and here, while here lots more stories are linked.

From Bangladesh stories here, here and here, from China this and this story, and stories about the eclipse worldwide here* (alt.*, alt.*, alt.*, alt.*, in Spanish* and in French*), here*, here*, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, hier, hier, hier, hier*, hier, hier und hier. The eclipse led to a brief surge in web searches; many more pre-eclipse stories can be found here!

In other Sun-related news the sunspot situation on Jan. 23, the big group #1040 (earlier) which was also visible during the eclipse. • There is also a new method to predict flares, and during recent total solar eclipses the corona has been imaged in a new light by Fe XI. • From the partial lunar eclipse preceding the ASE we have further pictures from the Philippines taken with unusual equipment (an AstroScan!) and from India (more, more). • It is also noteworthy that the upcoming full moon will be the biggest of the year.

Other happenings in the sky in the past three weeks

A small asteroid came moderately close to Earth (with some speculation that it may be related to the Venus Express mission): NEO News (alt.) about 2010 AL30, a radar detection, the Cosmic Diary (earlier), Remanzacco (earlier), Transient Sky (earlier), Planetary Society (earlier, still earlier), SpaceWeather, KosmoLogs and news coverage e.g. here (blog), here, here, here, here, here, here and hier and pictures and movies here, here, here and here. • There has been an arrest in connection with the 2008 TC3 meteorites in Sudan (also here and here). • A meteorite hit a dentist's office in Virginia, as reported here, here, here, here, here, here and hier - and another meteo-wrong.

The Curious Case of Comet P/2010 A2 (LINEAR) is discussed by TransientSky, Discovery, AstroEngine, S&T and AstroFan80 - did we witness a collision in the asteroid belt? • There was another sungrazer, quickly gone, while from the previous one we have further pictures & videos, a report (more), a movie (hectic and alt. versions) and stills from C2 (more) and from C3. • Comet C/2007 Q3 with a globular cluster (NGC 5466), and 81P/Wild on Jan. 20 and Jan. 2.

Mars is approaching opposition now: some pictures of Jan. 22, Jan. 21, Jan. 18, Jan. 15, Jan. 4 (more and one in 3D ...) and Jan. 2. • Epsilon Aurigae has now reached minimum (more and more reports); there is a possible explanation for the system, but many questions remain open. • A new nova has gone off in Sagittarius. • An amateur astrononomer has found a mistake in the Arp Atlas: abstract, story, press release, conference report, another one! • Free for all: a Sky & Tel. story (PDF) on Amateur Spacecraft Imaging. • And finally the Sun and the Telegraph hail an amateur astronomer and "space fanatic" ...