Solar eclipse 2009

[Mike21 (Michael)]

It's a BIG man who can use the word lucky in his story about lugging his gear all the way to China to watch an eclipse through the bloody clouds.

[Paul Haese]

Hey Russ,

just looked through your site, you have got some great images there. I see you have been to a lot of eclipses too. I love the images from Africa. Corona looks heaps different too.

Mike, well fortune favours the brave sometimes. Even though it was cloudy I did say several times during the lead up days that I would be happy if I could see the corona through high cloud. I guess the weather gods were listening and making sure I got what I asked for.

Bottom line is though that as I said on the morning, this is astronomy and sometimes things don't go according to plan. Anthony Wesley once said to me, this hobby is not for the impatient. He was referring to planetary imaging, but on a broader level astronomy long term is for the very patient. If we missed out we would have gone again to another one. Steven Lee (on the trip) has been to many which were clouded out and not seen a thing, yet he keeps turning up to see them. Big man or not, I reckon we just lucked it this time.

Thanks all for the comments.

[col]

DIV { MARGIN: 0px } Hi Paul, I'm glad to see you got something. I on the other hand suffered focuser slip on my WO 66SD which meant I was battling to achieve a properly focused image. This image is the best of the bunch and unfortunately being a longer exposure the cloud tended to wash out the outer corona.
Have you seen Steve Lee's results.
http://www.aao.gov.au/local/www/sl/eclipse2009.html
Now that's the way it should work out.
Regards, Col Shepherd

[Paul Haese]

Thanks Col. I got a couple of images like that myself. The cloud prevented well bracketed images. Not to mention it just meant imaging was a bit hit and miss.

Steve's images are pretty good. Good to see more people got good images. Mel got some nice images and well as Cath. I also happen to know that Ted probably got the best images of the group. Incredible detail and very very sharp.

[ngcles]

Hi Paul, Col Narayan & Al,

Yep I'd echo all comments -- the whole trip was a blast and I'm impressed with quite a few of the images given the conditions we had. I took 15 images and basically they're all rubbish save for one that might almost have got a pass from blind freddie on a galloping horse. My excuse? The focus was crappy because of the tears in my eyes.

On the up-side I did (due to my own naughtiness) get some images of the Pandas at Beijing Zoo that will make everyone else's look ordinary. Again just dumb luck -- in the right place at the right time.

I also saw Polaris for the first time!

I'm not trying to do advertising for my society but I'd agree with Paul's comments on value for money -- I find it hard to understand how that much was packed into the schedule for the price -- virtually all inclusive. There were a several competing trips and in terms of cost we weren't only cheaper but the competition wasn't even in the same ball-park -- several were so far distant they were in different cities!

It was also great fun seeing this eclipse with so many people that I've spent the best part of my life being friends with and looking up to (like Col & Steven Lee), while also with my wife & daughter. Plus I also had the chance to meet a whole lot of other amateurs from all around Australia and made so many new friends (well I hope I made some friends). If I had the chance to do it all again tomorrow I'd be off in a heartbeat and wouldn't change a thing (except perhaps for the food-poisoning episode).

I still can't believe we saw it. I'd have bet the house against it with 20 mins to go and save for a bit of scruff that at no time completely blocked the view and was soon gone and some high haze, we essentially saw the whole of totallity. I'm not sure, but I think we might have been the only Australian or US tour-group on mainland China that saw the lot -- many saw naught.

Mel is doing a brief write-up with images for AS&T -- so we can look forward to that and don't forget to submit your own images for the images section. Paul, I thought your diamond ring in particular was really nice. For me this diamond ring at second contact seemed to last a loooong time. It felt like 5-7 seconds.

I've now stood under the shadow of the Moon for a total of 9 mins 7 seconds (though for 2.45 of that, cloud technically got in the way in Bombala 1976 -- but I was actually under the umbra) and can't wait for 13th November 2012 when I'll hopefully join the +10 mins club! Hope to see a lot of you there. I also greatly enjoyed the experience of seeing so many people who were experiencing/enjoying their first totality.

Cheers to all!


Best,

Les D

*Edit* P.S I just saw Narayan's comment about Paul beng "positive" all the way along while the clouds rolled along and the rain came down. Well, I've got a photo of Paul with about 20 mins to go where he looks more "philosopical" or perhaps "pragmatic" than "positive" ... see attached

[seeker372011 (Narayan)]

Originally Posted by ngcles

H
*Edit* P.S I just saw Narayan's comment about Paul beng "positive" all the way along while the clouds rolled along and the rain came down. Well, I've got a photo of Paul with about 20 mins to go where he looks more "philosopical" or perhaps "pragmatic" ... more clearly than "positive" ... see attached

LOL

that was behind my back!

[Paul Haese]

Hehehe, that is funny Les (the photo I mean). Don't believe him Narayan I always knew we were gonna see it. I was just contemplating there how long I would need to use the shades in my hands. LOL

Great commentary mate, pretty much sums up my experience of this whole trip. Value for money, so many sights to see and the people we went with were great.

I thought you might be coming to Easter Island with us Les? Not 100% if I am still going but I am gonna try. Nearly 5 minutes of totality. Am contemplating whether I get a 300mm f2.8 or I go to Easter Island next year. I am leaning toward the Easter Island trip at this stage. would make it over 11 minutes then and it would be my 3rd total.

[ngcles]

Hi Paul & All,

Originally Posted by Paul Haese

I thought you might be coming to Easter Island with us Les? Not 100% if I am still going but I am gonna try. Nearly 5 minutes of totality. Am contemplating whether I get a 300mm f2.8 or I go to Easter Island next year. I am leaning toward the Easter Island trip at this stage. would make it over 11 minutes then and it would be my 3rd total.

I'd love to go but I'm afraid the ticket price it is a bit rich for me (nearly $12,000 pp). I get a small (and I mean small) discount as I work at Sydney Observatory but we're planning on doing a reno on the upstairs bathrooms next year and *virtually all* our projected savings as at July 2010 will go into the bathroom, toilet and en-suite. I'd love to say I'm spending "X" on a a piece of astronomy gear or a trip etc, but sadly it's likely to be a bit more mundane.

Three other things to note of interest for the future.

The eclipse of 13th November 2012 in north Queensland is two eclipses later within the same Saros that included my first eclipse (clouded out) on 23rd October 1976 -- so for me (then) I will hopefully be able to see (or at least experience) two eclipses within the one Saros (that'll be another one punched off the "to-do" card).

Perhaps more interestingly, the next eclipse within the Saros of the eclipse we saw on 22 July 2009 will be on 2 August 2027 (18 yrs, 11 days, 8 hrs in the Saros cycle) -- will also be a very long one 6 mins 22 sec at maximum) and in as much as China was fascinating, near maximum that eclipse the centreline passes 100-200km south of the Giza Pyramids in Egypt. That one is very much a "must see" assuming I'm still kicking at 64.

http://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/SEanima...2027Aug02T.GIF

Also, the eclipse we saw on 22 July 2009, to the day marks the official "19-years-to-go" for the total solar eclipse that passes directly through the geographical centre of Sydney on 22nd July 2028. I could do that one from the backyard (if I'm still living here) but will probably observe it from elsewhere.

I'd also like to see an annular eclipse sometime so that my "eclipses seen card" is fully ticked. Assuming I can do that then I will have seen at least one each of all type of solar and lunar eclipses (partial, annular and total solar) (penumbral, partial umbral and total umbral lunar) plus transits of Mercury (multiple) and transit of Venus (hopefully I'll see my 2nd in 2012) and hopefully (again) seen more than one eclipse within the one Saros (maybe 2 or three??).

Maybe I should also include somewhere along the line a "hybrid" solar eclipse, though it really is only (either) a total or annular eclipse depending on where you are observing on the path so it isn't really something different again.



Best,

Les D

[RB (Andrew)]

Originally Posted by ngcles

Also, the eclipse we saw on 22 July 2009, to the day marks the official "20-years-to-go" for the total solar eclipse that passes directly through the geographical centre of Sydney on 22nd July 2029. I could do that one from the backyard (if I'm still living here) but will probably observe it from elsewhere.

Les D

G'day Les,

Isn't the eclipse through Sydney to be on the 22nd July 2028 ?

Regards
Andrew

[fringe_dweller]

great pics thanks! hey Paul yeah ceduna/dec 2002 was great (i was at centreline Stuart highway) those short duration ones you get more prominence's with smaller apparent moon size, shadow cone ect. and it was solar max, bigger corona! everythings better at solar max eh! like 2012 i guess (if we get a solar max this time round?)
cheers

[ngcles]

Hi Andrew,

Originally Posted by RB

G'day Les,

Isn't the eclipse through Sydney to be on the 22nd July 2028 ?

Regards
Andrew

Yep, you are right. Silly me -- it was almost 1am (that's my excuse and I'm sticking to it).

I've edited the original to reflect that ... just in case.


Best,

Les D