Wednesday, August 23, 2017

A Wink From The 2017 Solar Eclipse

View from my balcony - no eclipse this time :~(
I was in London on August 11th 1999 when the last total solar eclipse visible from the UK occurred. My parents and I got in the car and drove up to Harrow Weald Common from where you get a view of the whole of London lying flat out before you. 

We had our pinhole camera thingies which my Dad had made by following instructions in the newspaper. You stood with your back to the sun, held up the card with the pinhole and saw the image of the waning sun projected onto another card held in front of you (being careful not to eclipse the pinhole with your head obviously). We had all heard the warnings and we were all being sensible and not looking at the sun. I have to say that I caught my Mum peeking and she didn't go blind so who knows. However, I won't take her next time as she cannot be trusted in eclipse conditions.

Obviously we weren't the only people who came to the common. The car park filled up and then people parked in the driveways and when they filled up, they parked down the road - a narrow country road with no pavements and absolutely no parking allowed. But on this day nobody cared. 

Office staff came with hampers of champagne and posh lunch. This was very funny as the whole thing lasted only 2 minutes so that was 12 minutes if you count 5 minutes waiting time either side of the eclipse. And there was no possibility of having a post-eclipse picnic for the rest of your lunch hour as the whole parking thing relied on everyone leaving straight after the eclipse or cars would be blocked in. 

It definitely added to the event by enjoying the atmosphere of everyone coming together. There was a camaraderie among strangers which I know to be true because we all sat in our cars for up to 20 minutes afterwards allowing the gridlocked car park to slowly empty out, last in first out. We were all relaxed like we were saying good bye to friends. Silly really, but that's how it actually was. 

There was also a bit of the end of the millennium anticipation come six months early. Was this the beginning of the end? It really did go eerily quiet as the birds were silent, and obviously the road was silent, and the people were silent with awe and wonder and suspense. 

So I was a little disappointed to find out that the much publicized eclipse of two days ago was only going to be visible in North America as a total eclipse. Parts of Northern and Western Europe would see a partial eclipse but the Middle East - zilch. So I forgot about it and got on with doing nothing which is what we do in August. 

Suddenly the light dimmed like when one lightbulb on a five-bulb chandelier goes but you still have the other four. I knew immediately what it was. It was a wink from the solar eclipse telling me, "not to worry love, there'll be another one - an annular solar eclipse - in your part of the world on December 26th 2019." 

"In an annular solar eclipse, the moon is too far from the Earth to block out the entire sun, leaving the sun peeking out over the moon's disk in a ring of fire." NASA

I can't wait.


6 comments:

  1. Toronto saw a 70% eclipse yesterday - it got darker and cooler but not like night. I drew the blinds and made sure not to look as my eyesight is quite bad enough! Toronto and region will see a total eclipse in 7 years time so we have lots of time to plan ahead to ensure we get a good spot to view and have the proper viewing glasses.

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    1. It's funny how a bit of darkness, or less light, is so exciting, especially as it gets dark every night. LOL

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  2. Or you can join us in South America in July 2019 to see a total solar eclipse as it traverses Chile and Argentina. BTW, your experience at Harrow Weald Common sounds a little bit like our regular visits to the Hollywood Bowl. Tonight Gustavo Dudamel (who coincidentally is from Venezuela) conducts the Los Angeles Philharmonic as they play "The Planets" composed by Gustav Holst - appropos! Nicola (and Howard)

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    1. I think the chances of me coming to South America next summer are less than 0% but thanks for the invitation anyway. I would actually love to experience the total eclipse again because there is something special and magical about it.

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  3. I so clearly remember the one in 1999 and yes special and magical especially as it was on my birthday. I worked on a huge private site of many buildings containing more than four thousand workers and it felt like they all came out together and excited to stand round the lake, then the silence, then everyone eager to chat (rather than rush back like fire drill). Seem to remember we all made special viewers from cd cases and like you had to stand with our backs to the eclipse.

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    1. It was magical wasn't it? I seem to remember something about cd cases to - although we just had pieces of cardboard.

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