Bart Bear's Blog

It seems like ages since the eclipse in Cairns. A lot of exciting stuff has happened in the meantime, particularly our New Zealand cruise. So for a while there will be a mix of photos, hope you can sort them out. Anyhow, here are Scruffy and I waiting for the eclipse to start. Our balcony at Amaroo had a table in just the right place to give us a good view across the ocean and to the side of the Oldies. We spent the time before the start of partial phases with a glass of breakfast champagne and our Kindles. Actually, I use Dad's Kindle because he has lots of great S-F stories on it; Scruff uses Mum's because he is getting interested in ancient Egypt too. Of course, when the eclipse started we had to wear proper protection to look at the Sun. Once the Moon completely covered the Sun during Totality we could look with our unprotected eyes, but before and after Totality we used eclipse goggles. We are getting quite a collection of these goggles now; this is our second eclipse and Mum likes the different designs. Whatever else you do, make sure you see at least one Total Solar Eclipse in your lifetime. You will never forget it.

Labels: astronomy, Cairns, eclipse, Queensland

We are back from our eclipse trip. We saw lots of interesting things, but of course the eclipse was the main thing. We were lucky. There was lots of cloud as the Sun rose and it got thicker as eclipse started. We didn't see the start of the partial phases, but as you can see, we had the special glasses on and caught glimpses of the Sun slowly disappearing behind the Moon. Then just as Totality began the clouds parted and we saw about 90% of the event. People on beaches to either side of ours saw nothing, so we really were lucky. The eclipse photo is from our friend Steve. He drove up to the Atherton Tablelands, inland from Cairns, and had clear skies. Eclipses are spectacular. Even if you don't see the whole thing you experience the eerie darkness and the cool wind that blows during totality. And it's fun to see the confused reactions of birds and animals that can't work out what's happening. That was my second Solar Eclipse and I hope that the Oldies will take me to more of them. Actually the reactions of people (including the Oldies) are some of the funniest things that you see at eclipses.

Labels: astronomy, Cairns, eclipse, Queensland

Yes, I am off travelling again. In just over an hour we head to the airport and fly off on our way to Cairns. There is a Total Solar Eclipse there on Wednesday next week and hundreds of thousands of people from all over the world are travelling there to see it. Scruffy and I have seen an eclipse before, at Ceduna in December 2002, and are really keen to see this one. We have had our accommodation at Trinity Beach booked for over 4 years! If you have never experienced a Total Solar Eclipse then you really need to do so. It is totally awesome in every sense of the word. Naturally, planning an eclipse expedition takes a lot of work and here's me doing the background reading on my Kindle (which Mum mistakenly thinks is hers). If any of you are in the Cairns area for the eclipse, look for the two small bears with eclipse glasses and camera.

Labels: Cairns, eclipse, Queensland

Mum always wanted to see a Total Solar Eclipse. Dad had seen three and Mum thought that was grossly unfair, so when one happened in Australia on 4 Dec 2002 there was no way we were going to miss it. Mum, Dad, Scruffy and I flew to Adelaide and hired a car to drive to Ceduna. None of us had ever been there before and it was a very interesting trip. Dad has just started scanning the photos from the trip, so you will see more of them later.
Ceduna was flooded with astronomers from all over the world. We found a spot right on the centre-line and away from the crowd. Now there is one thing you have to be really careful about when you are watching an eclipse and that is to protect your eyes. The Sun can blind you if you look right at it. Scruff and I had the proper solar shades. Here's Uncle Joe setting us up so we can watch the whole show. Mum went totally hyper at totality and can't wait for the next one at Cairns in 2012. Neither can I.

Labels: Ceduna, eclipse, safety, South Australia