Suomujarvi,
Finland
General: Time 01h55m, Alt. 4 degrees, Saros 126,
path 170 km, duration 01m30s (Max 02m33s)
Auringon Pimennys 22nd July 1990
In the early morning of 22nd July 1990, there was a total solar eclipse visible in Finland and its surroundings, at least for those who wanted or were able to get out of bed very early. Totality took place between 4.52 a.m. and 4.55 a.m., depending on the observation location in the country.
Given the experience of the author of this article, who has already witnessed a total of 6 total solar eclipses, he had to be there. We let Patrick Poitevin tell his story.
Because of circumstances, I couldn't stay too long in Finland, so I travelled back and forth on the plane for the sole purpose of watching this natural phenomenon. In spite of the prolonged sunny weather in Belgium during that period, Finland found itself in a low pressure zone. It was permanently cloudy and even rain was on the programme of the eclipse worshippers.
Some days before the total eclipse of the sun, Helsinki didn't seem to have come under the spell of the eclipse fever yet. A visit to the observatory and the Ursa observatory was a must of course. There I ran into my colleagues from Belgium. They told me they had taken two Dutchmen with them to observe "their behaviour" during the eclipse. It turned out to be Wil Carton and Simon van Leverink whom I had met ten years earlier during the eclipse trip to Kenya. Helsinki (actually the entire country) is very expensive and two days before the event I travelled further eastward, where prices were a bit cheaper. Moreover, totality would be higher above the horizon there. My purpose was Ilomantsi, some 75 km beyond Joensuu, where the Belgian expedition was staying for the night. Finally, they would observe quite nearby.
In Ilomantsi, the amateur association Ursa de Cygnus 90 had arranged a meeting. It is a pity that I have to say this, but the organization was very poor. The accommodation and the food in a local school, of which the prices fell within the Belgian standards, however were still acceptable. The international contacts with 200 participants from 20 different countries were a great experience.
The total solar eclipse
As already mentioned above, the weather was not too good. The day before the eclipse would take place, I went for a walk at 4 o'clock in the morning. The northeast horizon (where "it" would happen) seemed to have some clear openings.
That day, there seemed to be some more sunny periods, which looked promising. Everyone was getting very excited. And the "beginners" began to ask themselves more and more questions about the technical aspect of registering the event for eternity. Everybody selected their observation spots. I left to the north straight to the central line, accompanied by three Swedes. We already left by car at 10.30 p.m. for the trip that lasted 80 km, because we wanted to arrive well in time to secure an excellent observation spot for ourselves.
The little lake out there offered a splendid view with a vast horizon in front of and behind us. Around midnight, some naked Finnish "natives" enjoyed a fresh dive after their notorious "Finnish sauna". Was this already a taste of our coming eclipse ? At these northern latitudes it doesn't get dark at all at night; there is only twilight. The sky however was getting covered. At 4.03 a.m. local time, the partial phase would set in. A layer of clouds, however, had covered the sky so that it didn't show and it stayed that way until some 10 minutes before totality, when the sky opened up a little just above the horizon. But the sun didn't break through. Meanwhile it grew dark, slowly but unmistakably. Fortunately, it didn't clear up : we would not have been able to use our cameras because of the mosquitoes. They didn't stop harassing us and soon we were covered with itching mosquito bites.
Far away we heard the planes of Fin-air... and that meant that totality would follow very soon. It grew dark... Suddenly night fell and lasted for 1,5 minutes. It was even much darker than it had been the night before. In spite of the cloudy sky, this was really a wonderful experience. This was not everyone's opinion however. It stayed like this until after the 4th contact. The invisible spectacle was over.
The next evening we watched the eclipse on television in the plane. Finland had suffered from the cloudiness. This was also the case for Japanese who were in a plane at a height of 5000 meters, and found themselves literally in the clouds. Only above 10 000 meters it was possible to film the sun without hindrance. It was beautiful, but "the real thing" is much more awesome. So, we'll wait for Mexico 1990.
Picture by Patrick Poitevin
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