Housewife Jenny Ong, 43, said she was amazed by the phenomenon and had all along thought that chicken eggs could only be balanced or made to stand upright during Lap Choon/Li Chun festival (Eggs Standing Day), a special day in the Chinese calendar.

“After witnessing the demonstration by National Planetarium science officers, I realised that the eggs were able to stand upright on an even surface, due to increased gravity during the eclipse,” she told Bernama at the Partial Solar Eclipse observation programme organised by the National Space Agency (Angkasa) at the planetarium.

According to assistant science officer, Siti Aminah Arbain, the phenomenon occurred when the position of the earth was aligned with the moon and sun, thus creating a gravitational pull.

“Based on scientists’ opinion, the gravitational field between the sun and the earth is able to stabilise the electrons in eggs, enabling them to stand upright,” she said.

The peak of the partial solar eclipse phenomenon was observed at 8.24am when the moon’s shadow began to cover the sun slowly for about two hours.

– BERNAMA