Egg-standing test goes viral during solar eclipse crosses Asia

An egg will support itself that way when the moon obscures the sun and during the spring equinox, due to increased gravity, according to a popular scientific theory.

Videos shared online showed dozens of users succeeding in getting eggs to balance on different surfaces including on gravel, a windowpane, and a plate during the 'ring-of-fire' eclipse.

The last solar eclipse of the decade began at 7:59am on December 26. A solar eclipse is an astronomical event that occurs when the moon casts a shadow on parts of the earth. While in partial and annual solar eclipses, the moon only blocks a part of the sun, it can get almost as dark as night during a full solar eclipse.

While the theory has been debunked, that did not stop social media users from putting it to the test as thousands of skywatchers gathered across parts of Asia to witness a rare annular solar eclipse.

Hakeem Maarof, a Malaysian father of two, filmed eggs standing on end on a stone pavement and on the road after remembering being told about the theory by a friend.

"It's more of an experiment for my kids," Hakeem, who posted the footage of Facebook, told Reuters.

Dr Chong Hon Yew, a retired physicist from the Malaysian Science University said there was no evidence to back up the theory.

"You can do the same experiment tomorrow, before or after eclipse – it's easy to do it," Chong said. "But it's a fun trick to do (during an eclipse) to get young kids interested in science and astronomy."

Thursday's annular eclipse - which occurs when the moon covers the sun's center but leaves its outer edges visible to form a ring - was also visible in Saudi Arabia, Singapore, India and Sri Lanka.

In most years, two solar eclipses are visible from somewhere on Earth. The maximum number per year is five.