Total Solar Eclipse - Page 2

xelasnave · #21 23-02-2007, 06:54 AM

If I am still alive I plan going up.
alex

glenc (Glen) · #22 23-02-2007, 07:01 AM

Alex I reckon you'll make another 6 years easy.

ving (David) · #23 23-02-2007, 03:30 PM

ok, asked cheryl if she wanted to take a holiday to cairns in 2012...

it would be too hot and she'd keel over she stated

can i go by myself? i asked

you would be spending too much time away from meeeee!!!

hehe, god i love this woman

swannies1983 (Dan) · #24 23-02-2007, 05:45 PM

I was fortunate enough to see the outback SA one 5 years ago. I didn't start my planning for the trip until a year before the event. Most tours we booked, and the ones which weren't cost around $2000 as the eclipse was only part of the tour. Lucky enough, I came across a small tour group who was only taking us to see the eclipse (somewhere in the middle of nowhere on a cattle station). No clouds and only a little bit of wind but it was the best 25 secs of my astronomical obsession

Ric · #25 23-02-2007, 07:02 PM

Hey Ving, tell Cheryl your astro buddies are going to look after you

and that "Absence make the heart grow fonder"

Cheers

fringe_dweller · #26 24-02-2007, 04:46 PM

the only one I have seen was the 2002 dec SA one from Stuart highway near centreline, for 29 seconds of totality - yes it was very short (they can be as long as 7 minutes or so I think) but you get a different effect with the short (and narrow path - same thing) horizon number and that is the shadow cone being very evident/dramatic amongst other things :-)
so i liked it for that reason, and also it was in my homestate/backyard - that to me made it even more special

anyone who was on the south eastern side of centreline on stuart highway might remember me as the person who single handledly flagged down the nice Motorcycle policeman and asked him to stop this over officious guy (cant remember who he represented the farmer or organisers of centreline party?) but he was desperately and threatening aggressively trying to move all of parked by the road on and herd us to centreline party - it forced a showdown and the policeofficer and this ******** nearly ended up in blows (the cop made motions of getting of his bike to deck this wanker at one point) - words were exchanged it was getting heated - but the cop won when he said ' if a bunch of weirdos want to watch the sky go dark - whats the harm in that?' or something along those lines - and the official was going on about damage to this fenceless barren outback roadside stretch of nowhere, and the cop responded laughing ' 'wha! theres all these cattle and sheep everywhere ruining it, WTF are ya on about!' quite right i thought - or something like that
anyway the officious guy ran off with his tail between his legs and the cop was chasing him on the bike - he could of booked him for abusing a police officer/interfering in course of duty easily - lucky the cop was feeling generous - he came very close!
anyway that cop was very much a hero (maybe forgotten? he is featured on a couple of websites i have seen) that day - to the s/e side of centreline stuart highway owe him a debt of gratitude anyhoo

i will be going to the 2012 aussie one, all going well that is - I wanted to go to the long duration one in china 2010? - would have to look it up again - all ya have to do is get a flight to chainghi (spelling?) get off plane at airport watch it - then get back on plane

glenc (Glen) · #27 24-02-2007, 04:52 PM

Eclipse in 2009 is at:
http://home.cc.umanitoba.ca/%7Ejande...tse09intro.htm

Ric · #28 24-02-2007, 05:26 PM

Great story Fringe_Dweller

I can just picture it.
It's little things like that that make these occasions all the more memorable.

I always remember a lunar eclipse many years ago, we were all set up in a local park and a loomy rolled up with a Rams skull on a pole and did the "we're all doomed" bit. That was fine until he started to wave a machette about, we felt safe but thought he was going to do himself in so the local law was called. It turned out he was the local loony and totally harmless and did this sort of thing every full moon and the red moon had really got him going.

Cheers

fringe_dweller · #29 24-02-2007, 05:37 PM

Thanks for the link Glenn - thats the one I think!

Ric - that fella sounds like a true luna - tic

excellent story! love it! was it the july 2000 TLE per chance - that was the best one i have ever seen! wouldnt be surprised what that would do to an already excitable full-moon worshipping loony!!!

re little things surrounding events - thats true, I remember these little details just as much as the events themselves - somehow they get heightened coz of the already unusual circumstances? - mebbe

fringe_dweller · #30 24-02-2007, 05:44 PM

should also say as it turned out, due to cool (for there) weather ( 21-23 C i think? ) the s/e side of centreline stuart hwy was favoured, as predicted by Fraser Farrell on his page, as the centreline was moved a few 100 mtrs by defraction? due to cool temp)

Ric · #31 24-02-2007, 05:49 PM

It was further back in the early 90's, i'll have to dig out my old log books to get the exact date.

Cheers

CometGuy · #32 24-02-2007, 09:41 PM

The first solar eclipse I saw was the 1976 eclipse from the Southern outskirts of Sydney. Dad had his 60mm refractor out and projected the suns image onto a screen and still had super 8 footage somewhere. Although we weren't in the path of totality it was a very advanced partial eclipse for us (at least 95%?) and Venus was brightly visible to the naked eye.

Have seen lots of partial eclipses since but it wasn't until 2002 that I actually saw the total eclipse from near Woomera. Its hard to describe in words the spectacle of a total solar eclipse. It is just so removed from normal day-to-day experiences and is perhaps the most spectacular astronomical phenomena you will ever see.

Terry

jjjnettie (Jeanette) · #33 24-02-2007, 10:09 PM

Thanks Glen.
It was driving me nuts not knowing.

I asked Greg if we could go up to Cairns in 2012 for the eclipse and he said "Sure".
Must get it in writing though, then frame it, and hang it on the wall.
LEST HE FORGET.

OneOfOne (Trevor) · #34 26-02-2007, 08:13 AM

I asked my wife at the weekend about going to Port Douglas or Cairns, her response?

"So would we just take the PST or would you take the scope at well?" So I guess that is a yes!

leon · #35 27-02-2007, 09:59 PM

Yep, One of One, that's classed as a yes

Cheers Leon

robagar · #36 07-03-2007, 10:59 PM

Cornwall (UK), August 11th 1999, one of the best experiences of my life. It was cloudy all day but a small gap appeared just as the eclipse started, and we had a perfect view.

Now in Cairns, waiting for 2012

glenc (Glen) · #37 08-03-2007, 05:15 AM

"Now in Cairns, waiting for 2012"
Getting in early robagar.

robagar · #38 09-03-2007, 10:31 AM

it's a great excuse to lie in a hammock in the garden

mickoking · #39 09-03-2007, 02:37 PM

When I was a Kid in Sydney I saw the 1976 eclipse (mainly on tv) and I remember it being quite dark outside where the oldies were enjoying a few tinnies in the back yard.

I plan to be in China for the next few years so I have the 1 Aug 2008 and 22 July 2009 total solar eclipses penciled in

fringe_dweller · #40 09-03-2007, 02:51 PM

I'm a little concerned about the Chinese eclipses when viewed from densely populated industrial area's, I have seen seen some dramatic pics of the air pollution in/over china recently, will this be an issue for visual observations??