Thursday 22 November 2012

Solar Eclipse - Australia November 2012

Here is a photo story of our adventure last week...

5 days and over 3 000 km of travel we arrived in Julatten Northern Queensland in anticipation of seeing the Solar Eclipse.

Finally the morning arrived after a night of rain. It was 4.30 am and the sky above the tent was clear and full of stars.

Paul had contacted the farmer behind the caravan park and we had permission to walk in his paddock to view the eclipse.
Walking to our viewing point.
The paddocks were beautiful and the birds were regaling us with their morning chorus
6:37 am it started getting dark.
we looked at the heavens and saw this heart in the clouds...

6:38 it was totally dark and ..... everything was silent

The clouds moved and revealed the total eclipse. It lasted for two minutes.
Total Eclipse
And in a twinkling of an eye the daylight returned.
the rays of the sun were bright

sun beginning to reappear. Third Contact Phase
"Hey Mommy the sun looks like the moon!"
The moon moving out of occlusion Fourth Contact Phase
The moment is finished.
It was an amazing experience and I hope to see the next one in Australia. Did any of you see it ?

I enjoyed the experience so much I would love to see the next one Lord willing for my 56th birthday :) 22 July 2028
Future Solar Eclipses for Australia

Blessings
Chareen

Some facts
  • There are five phases of a total eclipse
    Moon's first contact
    Second Contact
    Total Eclipse
    Third Contact
    Fourth Contact
  • This eclipse started at 5.44 am
  • Total eclipse was at 6.38 am
  • Last contact was at 7:40 am
  • Duration of total eclipse 2 m 03s
  • The sun is 400 times larger than the moon
  • The sun is also 400 times further away that is why the moon can cover the sun.
  • This eclipses path started in the Northern Territory and ended just short of South America
  • Over Queensland the path was about 140 km wide
  • The moons shadow traveled at 15,000 km/h 
  • A total solar eclipse happens somewhere on earth approximately every 18 months.
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4 comments:

  1. Catherine (Alecat Music)22 November 2012 at 18:11

    Great photos!

    I remember experiencing a total eclipse in my younger years (would have been 7 or 8). I guess we'll have to do some travelling to make sure our children see one in their lifetime. :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Chareen23 November 2012 at 21:08

      Thank you Catherine. It was an amazing experience. I have updated this post with a map of future eclipses in Australia.
      Blessings

      Delete
  2. Chelle23 November 2012 at 12:07

    These photos are amazing thanks for sharing them.
    We only had a partial eclipse here in NZ, nothing like this!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Chareen23 November 2012 at 21:09

      You are welcome Chelle :) It was an amazing experience. Loved it.

      Delete

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