New Delhi, July 22 - As dawn broke Wednesday, the century's longest total solar eclipse began with thousands of sky gazers craning their neck skywards to catch the glimpse of the rare celestial spectacle.

The sun rose eclipsed Wednesday morning at 5:28 a.m. at a local sunrise point in the Arabian Sea close to the western coast of India near Surat in Gujarat.

Thousands of people, children and adults, thronged the sky watching sites across the country with their solar goggles to watch the eclipse.

In India, the totality phase will last for some 3 minutes 30 seconds and places like Surat in Gujarat, Indore and Bhopal in Madhya Pradesh, Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh and Patna and Taregna in Bihar will observe the total solar eclipse.

The total eclipse will be between 6:20 a.m. to 6:25 a.m. when sun will be completely obscured by the moon.

The total phase of the eclipse is expected to last 6 minutes and 44 seconds, making it the longest eclipse of the century. The next such celestial spectacle will take place 2132.