Hyco
Lake, NC, USA
General: Time 16h40m, Alt. 74 degrees, Saros 137,
duration 00m12s (Max 00m11s)
Preparations with again the predictions from Fred
Espenak. Smallest path to be 7 km and duration of annularity of 11 seconds.
Observed from an open spot at Hyco Lake, North Carolina. Travelled with
Explores Travel Club. Other Belgians in the group being Christian Steyaert,
Giuseppe and Rosina Canonaco. Bus driver was Sunny and together with Brian
McGee, we could observe the eclipse successfully. A hole in the sky. We arrived
only 30 minutes before maximum. The partial phase could be seen through the
window during the drive in the bus (through the clouds as a filter). The
temperature dropped with 5 degrees.
As with a total solar eclipse, the sky became quick dark and felt colder. The birds were disturbed and sang loudly and confused. The interruptions in the ring could be seen in the telescope and the time between 2 and 3rd contacts was between 5 and 10 seconds. It was all visible in one single hole in the sky, surrounded with cirrus clouds. Venus could be observed long, but the corona or prominences could not be seen with the naked eye. Only after on the slides, a big prominence appeared.
Purpose was to observe the eclipse from the coast. Though, due to the weather conditions, we had to move in land. Contact with meteo helped us and there should be somewhere a hole in the sky. So we did not had time to set up properly and I left the meteo observations.
For Belgium partial, though an eclipse-less period for 10 years. Next SE in 1994.
Picture by Patrick Poitevin
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