A total eclipse of the Sun
Sometimes in life you have to just grab an opportunity as it comes to you, or regret it forever.
Four weeks ago an old friend rang out of the blue. "We've just realised that there's a total eclipse of the Sun over the Med on March 29th. How do you fancy chartering a yacht and sailing to see it?"
So dawn on the 29th of March saw us sailing into the harbour of the tiny island of Kastellorizo, a Greek anomaly off the coast of Turkey and the only place in Europe to experience totality.
After a leisurely breakfast of freshly-baked chocolate bread from the local bakery (very welcome after our night crossing from Rhodes) we climbed the staircase up the cliffs behind the town and staked out our viewing spot on one of the hilltops. The skies were clear, the sun hot, and it looked like we were going to be lucky and get good views.
First contact was about one and a half hours before totality. First a tiny nibble out of the sun, then a bite, then the sun a reverse new-moon shape as the moon slowly moved in front of it. The temperature started to drop long before you could see any difference in the brightness of the sunlight - people started putting on sweaters and jackets, and wishing that they'd not worn shorts after all.
A few minutes before totality the light finally started to dim slightly. It took on a weird yellowish cast, the strangeness compounded by the oddity of shadows - usually when the light is dim like that, the shadows are the long ones of morning or evening. Here the shadows were midday-short, a wrongness that your subconscious noted before your conscious mind figured out what was strange.
At totality the sun turned black, with the flare of the corona like a halo around it. It didn't get completely dark (although it did get dark enough for the lights of the town on the Turkish mainland to come on). Planets shone in the sky, and all around the horizon the sky was orange and pink and mauve, like a 360-degree sunset. One of the most beautiful things I've ever seen in my life.
After 3 minutes of totality the moon moved off the sun. At the first sliver of sunlight the light came up like someone turning up a dimmer switch. Everyone around us was high as a kite, chattering and laughing and sharing their feelings about the experience.
In the words of the Californian next to us: "Just awesome!"
Four weeks ago an old friend rang out of the blue. "We've just realised that there's a total eclipse of the Sun over the Med on March 29th. How do you fancy chartering a yacht and sailing to see it?"
So dawn on the 29th of March saw us sailing into the harbour of the tiny island of Kastellorizo, a Greek anomaly off the coast of Turkey and the only place in Europe to experience totality.
After a leisurely breakfast of freshly-baked chocolate bread from the local bakery (very welcome after our night crossing from Rhodes) we climbed the staircase up the cliffs behind the town and staked out our viewing spot on one of the hilltops. The skies were clear, the sun hot, and it looked like we were going to be lucky and get good views.
First contact was about one and a half hours before totality. First a tiny nibble out of the sun, then a bite, then the sun a reverse new-moon shape as the moon slowly moved in front of it. The temperature started to drop long before you could see any difference in the brightness of the sunlight - people started putting on sweaters and jackets, and wishing that they'd not worn shorts after all.
A few minutes before totality the light finally started to dim slightly. It took on a weird yellowish cast, the strangeness compounded by the oddity of shadows - usually when the light is dim like that, the shadows are the long ones of morning or evening. Here the shadows were midday-short, a wrongness that your subconscious noted before your conscious mind figured out what was strange.
At totality the sun turned black, with the flare of the corona like a halo around it. It didn't get completely dark (although it did get dark enough for the lights of the town on the Turkish mainland to come on). Planets shone in the sky, and all around the horizon the sky was orange and pink and mauve, like a 360-degree sunset. One of the most beautiful things I've ever seen in my life.After 3 minutes of totality the moon moved off the sun. At the first sliver of sunlight the light came up like someone turning up a dimmer switch. Everyone around us was high as a kite, chattering and laughing and sharing their feelings about the experience.
In the words of the Californian next to us: "Just awesome!"
posted by Azziria at 08:29
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