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Wolverhampton Astronomical SocietyEstablished 1951 |
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The Solar Eclipse of 3rd October 2005By Simon BarnettThe solar eclipse of 3rd October 2005 was annular in Portugal, Spain, and parts of Africa. Originally, I had intended to observe the eclipse from Javea, in Spain, but had to withdraw this option for health reasons. Therefore, a decision was made to observe the eclipse from the UK. A tentative plan was to observe from either May Hill in Gloucestershire, or Portland Bill in Dorset, but on the Sunday night, it became clear that the weather would be cloudy from these locations on eclipse day. The only clear parts of the UK were to be the south-east, Newcastle-Upon-Tyne, and parts of Scotland around Aberdeen. A decision was therefore taken to head south-east in the early morning hours. I left home at 03:00BST, and the weather was overcast. Only on passing Milton Keynes on the M1 did the first breaks in the cloud cover occur. Soon, the whole sky to the south-east was clear. I stopped briefly at Thurrock Services on the M25 to observe a beautiful sunrise; a promise of fine eclipse weather. I decided to continue on the M2 towards Dover, and managed to get to the small village of Selsted, about five miles north of Folkestone. Here, in a country lane near the village, overlooking a field, I set up my camera. (This consisting of a Sony video camera mounted on a tripod, a 2x converter, and a Baader solar filter). By now, the whole sky was clear, apart from a line of cloud on the northern horizon! The eclipse began at 08:49BST, and first contact was duly observed. The eclipse slowly progressed, and soon pinhole images of the Sun on the ground, cast by surrounding trees and bushes showed clear "bites" out of them. Maximum eclipse of magnitude 0.657 occurred at 10:01BST, and the Sun was reduced to a wide crescent. The landscape took on a subdued light, with a yellowish quality, as you might expect about an hour before sunset. However, the sky retained the same shade of blue as before the eclipse. On the ground, shadows took on a "spiky" appearance, and the country lane was a myriad of dancing "crescents" on the ground. About ten minutes after maximum eclipse, the yellowish light passed, and the landscape began to resume its former lustre. In the distance, I heard the sounds of children in the playground of nearby Selsted primary school. Would they or their teachers have been aware of the eclipse? I remember being in a similar situation at school when I was ten, during the eclipse of 29th April 1976. I was aware of that morning's event, but had no way of observing it, and no guidance from the teachers either. I feel that schools should take advantage of these events, as they are of great educational value if supervised properly. The eclipse finally ended at 11:20BST, and the Moon departed from the lower limb of the Sun, and the shadows resumed their usual appearances. The eclipse was over. The remainder of the day consisted of a drive along the south coast from Folkestone, via Dungeness, Brighton, and Southampton, and then north along the A34 and M40 back home. All in all, a good eclipse, although I would have loved to have been in Spain for the annular phase. I do intend to travel to Turkey for the eclipse in March 2006, and hope for good luck with that one. Simon Barnett |
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