Finally! An eclipse we could drive to, for the first time since the previous member of this family of eclipses 10 May 1994! Saros 128, the member of this family, returns to the Earth every 18 years 10.3 days. Last time around, it was a morning eclipse. This time, it was a late afternoon eclipse, further north.
We spent 2 days at the South Rim of the Grand Canyon and then drove north to Page on eclipse day. The distance is about 230 km (140 miles). We found a place at the back of a motel which had a perfect view of the western horizon, including the Kaibab Plateau, the Vermillion Cliffs, and Lake Powell. This time, I set up the C* telescope I was able to bring, attached the solar filter, and used that for views. The sunspots were striking!
I then set up a video camera at about 25 x and a filter, so it would run during annularity with minimal effort on my part to adjust it. I had a camera with 35x optical, and I put a solar filter over the lens and took pictures periodically. Annular solar eclipses do darken the sky a little, there is an “eclipse wind,” and the temperature cooled 5.8 C, or about 10.5 F. The sun was starting to set, but obviously the eclipse had an effect on the temperature, since 5 p.m to 6:30 p.m.temperature drops are usually less than half that.
We had a nice group with us, with two men from the UK next to us, many German tourists, so I could practice my German, a motel, where they did not mind our using their cold water and toilet facilities, and a place to park right next to our gear! My wife helped rescue two Swiss women who were on the balcony of their room and were locked out. For that, she got some Swiss chocolate!!
We left page at 7:30 p.m.,, drove past the unbelievable crowd of cars at the site overlooking Horseshoe Bend in the Colorado River, and returned to the South Rim at 2200! Video of the eclipse is here. All pictures of the eclipse and the Grand Canyon are here.
Mid-annularity
Just after “First Contact”
Mid-annularity
Boreal B[l]og 