Total Solar Eclipse 2006
SAS members in Turkey.
The Trip:
Having enjoyed a trip to Valencia in October 2005 to see an annular eclipse of
the Sun with a party from the Sheffield Astronomical Society, we booked a trip
to see the 2006 March 29 total eclipse in Turkey. There we joined astronomers
from around the world as they converged on the southern Turkish resort of
Antalya to view the event.
The trip began from Sheffield in the very early hours of March 28th to fly from
Manchester on a 7:30am flight. We eventually arrived at Antalya airport some 4
hours or so later and after an aborted landing. The warm Sun and blue skies
were a welcome change from the cold wind and rain that we had left behind in
England.
Once we reached our accommodation, an all-inclusive hotel in Belek, we were
able to settle in and plan our strategy for the big event. Our first job was to
pick a site from which we would observe and we finally decided upon a spot on
the hotel lawn just next to the beach. A place which turned out to be ideal.
We passed the evening with a good meal, followed by a lecture about Solar
Eclipses by one of our favourite speakers, Paul Money along with Nigel
Bradbury. After that it was time to get some very much needed sleep before the
big day arrived.
From the moment the Sun rose, there was no suggestion that the weather would
interfere with our enjoyment. We were able to set up as planned and were ready
to watch the eclipse unfold in good time.
We did get the odd interruption though, because of the trademark yellow SAS
shirts that we wore. The trip organisers had chosen the same colour for their
shirts. As a result, amongst other things we would be asked about the times of
flights home as well as what was on view through our telescopes.
The anticipation grew as we saw the growing partial phase. The first sign that
something unusual was about to happen was when the light started to gradually
fade and the temperature start to drop. Thin clouds began to appear in the sky
and a halo formed around the Sun. But there was no threat that the cloud would
spoil the view. Eventually, the Sun's disk was almost covered and then as it
went, the diamond ring was seen.
From then on we were in an eerie darkness, mesmerised by the sight in the sky.
The black disk of the Moon surrounded by the white corona of the Sun. To the
west, Mercury and Venus were clearly visible in the darkened sky. Almost as
soon as it had begun, the diamond ring reappeared as the Sun came back into
view and the spectacle was over, the fastest 3 minutes and 32 seconds ever!
Everyone had been thrilled by what they had just seen, the ultimate
astronomical event.
In Pictures:
Sampling the cuisine.
Discussing the forthcoming events over dinner.
Posing with the tour's guest speakers.
This time we're not the ones in the yellow shirts.
Sunrise on eclipse day
James O'Neill of the SAS captures this picture of Venus in the early morning twilight.
Setting up.
Me preparing a webcam to record the eclipse.
Ready and waiting.
The hotel grounds are full of astronomers with all the telescopes trained on the Sun.
Our spot on the lawn.
Interested onlookers ask us about what's going to happen.
Safe projection viewing.
Derek Liddell of the society uses the projection method to view the partially eclipsed Sun.
Leaf projection.
Leaves of a nearby palm tree combine to create multiple pin hole cameras, projecting the eclipse image onto the ground.
Birds roosting.
The birds think its the end of the day.
The eclipse.
This is what we came to see.
The Diamond Ring.
Totality ends in spectacular style.
Datalogger results.
How the temperature and light levels changed during the course of the eclipse.
Finally:
Late that afternoon we left for the airport to had back home. Although for me home was about to move. Two days after the eclipse
I was to leave England for the Isle of Man. Strange then, whilst checking in for the flight, members of the Isle of Man Astronomical Society
should be queueing up behind us, their identity given away by the logos displayed on their shirts. At this point I decided to introduce
myself, since I was likely to meet up with them again in the near future after I have moved.
When we finally boarded the plane the two societies shared a couple of rows of seats and as we flew back a handover ceremony took place somewhere over Romania.
Kevin Deakes - The Andromeda Observatory 2006.