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The 2005 annular eclipse from Spain ...
The eclipse was great. Quite different from Zimbabwe in that it never
got as dark. Well not dark at all really only dull and cold. Temp plummeted
from about 26 to 18 or so (shade measurements).
We had some super crescents looking at stones through the leaves. I would
say that effect was even sharper than I have seen before. The local paper
told people to wear strong sunglasses! I hope they didn't as even at totality
you couldn't look at the sun without the proper specs. In fact people
who hadn't read about it would not have been able to see totality. It
was very spooky though. As it got colder the colour of the light changed
and became eerily blue.
'Totality' was great. The ring was like the kind of wedding ring my grandparents
would have had. Not wide like mine but thick and rounded. Much wider than
I have seen in other photos such as the third one at <http://eclipse.span.ch/Madrid/SolarEclipseMadridOctober3.htm>.
I would say if the dark shadow was about a 1cm then the ring would be
about 1mm roughly. Didn't get dark enough to see stars. The ring the moment
before totality was sort of the opposite to the diamond ring. You had
the gold ring with a dense black stone at the top. Also noticed coming
up to 3rd contact some black beading within the Sun. Again rather like
a reverse of the 'normal' beads. Must have seemed very spooky to those
without the glasses to feel cold and dull yet sun apparently still shining.
Hope there are no damaged retinas as a result of bad advice.
I would think this would have been about the thickest ring you would get
for an annular. I guess sometimes it's a very thin ring so obviously we'll
have to see a few more annulars to compare! We were all moving from shade
out to sun during the early and late stages but the Sun had no warmth
(just like the UK really!). David was here and two neighbouring couples.
We had Bucks Fizz after 3rd contact and I'd made Kedgeree and bacon rolls.
All in all a worthwhile experience. David was glad he came down. Sorry
you couldn't make it. Our neighbours enjoyed it. Only one of them had
seen an eclipse - the 1999 from London when it got much darker. They knew
nothing about eclipses but David soon enlightened them - at great length!
We had an awful scare yesterday as the sky was cloudy almost all day.
Today dawned rather cloudy but looked as if it might brighten. We saw
first contact in a 'mackerel' sky but it soon brightened up so at totality
(or whatever you call it) it was a completely clear blue sky. Felt very
strange that it got colder the more the clouds disappeared!
Not sure if will make Libya but might try for Siberia on Aug 1st 2008
as that's David's birthday.
Anne Marigold
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I was lucky enough to observe the annular eclipse in the grounds of a
17th Century country house located on the outskirts of Medina del Campo,
approx 150 kilometres to the north of Madrid.
For the duration of the eclipse, I viewed using an old Soligor telephoto
lens converted to take telescope eyepieces. Using the telephoto-telescope
with a combination of Baader AstroSolar film, Baader contrast booster
and an Orthoscopic eyepiece (18mm) gave a very interesting view of the
whole event. The contrast booster gives the Sun a very pleasing
yellow colour through the eyepiece.
A few minutes after first contact, the outline of the Moon could clearly
be seen to have hollows and notches, presumably the outline of mountains
on the limb. This view became even better towards the end of maximum eclipse
as the limb of the Moon crept very slowly towards the edge of the Sun. Visually,
seconds before 3rd contact was the most spectacular, as the Moon’s
mountains and valleys could be seen in sharp relief as sunlight streamed
through. It was during this moment that I realised how relentlessly the
outline of the Moon marches over the face of the Sun. All too quick for
my liking. The sky was a lovely clear blue colour from first contact
until the end of the eclipse. Quite surprisingly though, during maximum
eclipse, the temperature dropped noticeably and the light faded to that
of a mid winter’s day in the UK.
Throughout the event I managed to capture a few photos with my digital
Olympus 5060 zoom camera held up to the eyepiece of my STT.
To view the images click here.
Tim Leese
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 July and August updates ...
The bright twilight nights are slowly giving way to darker skies and the prospect of revealing a little-known nightly sight. Away from the towns and cities, the Milky Way will soon be glimpsed meandering through the constellation of Cygnus. This river of stars was worshipped by the ancient Egyptians ... Nowadays, especially when we approach the end of Summer, it's astronomers that turn their gaze skyward and praise the sight of a myriad of stars arching high above them.
The following sections have been updated: This month's night sky and observations.
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Would you like to join our newly formed visual observing group? We will now be holding regular observing sessions at some of our dark-sky sites across Macclesfield. If you would llike to be added to our contact list, don't delay ... Click
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For information on our observing
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Our Workshops continue to be a
great success. As a result we are looking for more of you
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