Total Solar Eclipse 2009

Hi,

I posted one of my images at:
homepage.eircom.net/~vsn

Despite the 1 second exposure only the extreme inner corona
was visible. There was a continual layer of status cloud that covered the whole sky.

During the partial phase there was glimpes of the eclipse every now and again, these would typically last a few seconds to a minute.

During totality during the first minute or so the cloud was opaque. It then thinned a little for the rest of totality, affording a fine view of the crimson chromosphere and a beautiful diamond ring. There was no yellow along the horizon.

The site was at Chenjshanjou, south of Huzhou, China.

Here's to better conditions in 2010

John

Eclipse success from close to Iwo Jima where we had 6 minutes 42 seconds of totality. We had perfectly clear skies for the event although the weather was rotten all the other days. We used the satellite images to sail into a nice pocket of clear weather and we managed to stay there for the entire eclipse.

Also present were 3 other ferries (the lights came on during totality for one of them) a freighter and a plane that stumbled into the path of totality.

My friend, Thomas Kinsella, observed 3 minutes 30 seconds from Wuhan with roughly 2 minutes of cloud as well.

Here are my photos with the 600mm f/4 IS taken just as I showed earlier in this thread.

www.flickr.com/photos/eclipsechaser/3768340306/sizes/o/


www.flickr.com/photos/eclipsechaser/3767539649/sizes/o/

Dan,
Great to hear you had success! 6min 42secs - amazing!
Must have been incredible to witness.
Great photos you got too - looks like your technique payed off.

We just got home last night and feeling shattered now.
It's one heck of a long flight home!

Michael.

Hi all,

Got back late last night from my trip. Went with Ulster travel about 25 of us from all round Ireland - Belfast, Cork, Galway, Sligo and Dublin. Watched eclipse from Hangzhou on the bank of the Qiantang river where we did see the tidal bore but not the eclipse. Saw some partial phases before and after totality, but not the good bit. It got extremely dark, much darker than Turkey. Disappointing to not see it, but the tidal bore was good as was the rest of the trip with Shanghai - skyscrappers everywhere (one night went to a bar on the 88th floor of one of them) view was amazing. Hangzhou was smaller but very nice - (same population as island of Ireland). Terracotta warriors were very good as was the great wall (never knew that it was so high in the mountains - not good if you don't like heights!) and the forbidden city. Haggling in the shops was good fun - got some good bargains. Weather was extremely hot in Shanghai when we started the trip a couple of days before the eclipe - 46 degrees - scary hot - dropped down to mid thirties for the rest of the trip which felt almost comfortable! Pollution is a huge problem in some of the cities - the layer of smog was crazy.

Overall a great trip and as Michael said - its a long flight so taking it easy for a couple of days now!

Neill

Neill,
Which part of the Great Wall did you go to - the one with the cable cars and the toboggan? If so, did you climb the really steep bit? That was good fun.
Oh, you didn't by any chance experience the mayhem of the Pearl Market in Beijing did you?

As for the smog - funnily enough, it wasn't anywhere near as bad as I expected considering all we heard about it before the Olympics. We saw far far worse in India a few years ago - some days, every single breath was difficult.
I could be wrong, but the smog in around Beijing seems to be partly natural at least I reckon - quite a bit of haze even way out by the Great Wall, which is a decent drive from the city.

Michael.

Hi Michael,

Yes it was the bit with the cable car and the tobaggan. Was good fun came down on the tobaggan. Didn't go to the Pearl market in Beijing, but did experience the knock-off market in Shanghai, talk about high pressure sales technique! The combo of smog and mist in Xi'an made it pretty unattractive when we were at the city walls, our guides were ashamed to admit that the haze was pollution.