As the partial phases progressed, we had
moments of clear sky and then lone thin clouds would pass over the sun.
During these moments, we could still see the partial phase without optical
aid because of the dense cloud. Somebody shouted out to look behind us
and see the projected images of the eclipsing sun on the building wall
across the road. All the pine trees lining the foreshore were acting as
thousands of pinhole cameras. What an amazing sight! But this was only
the appetiser, the real show was about to begin with the total eclipse
approaching fast and the clouds appearing to magically clear around the
sun.I am sure we all held our breathe because of the menacing clouds but
fortunately minutes before totality the immediate area around the sun
was totally clear and allowed us to witness the first spectacular diamond
ring effect. The day at the time seemed normal enough, as there appeared
to be no loss of actual sunlight, until moments before totality. Then, everything
and everybody went haywire. We were plunged into this weird light show –
the sky went a most beautiful coloured twilight of purple hues and deep
blues and the bay waters changed to a dark bronze grey colour. The scene
of the eclipse in the sky was awesome and with difficulty, I will put it
into words because you really had to be there.
Picture the scene – the crowds of eclipse watchers had a magnificent
view out to sea with light cloud on the horizon but there was this extraordinary
sight of a black hole low in the sky where the sun should be. The black
hole was circled with pink and the white solar corona was blazing out
from the sun in all its glory. A quick peek at the eclipsed sun through
the binoculars revealed that the pink around the Moon was in fact the
solar prominences with individual flares easily seen arcing over the sun’s
surface. Totality was larger than life because of the low altitude of the
eclipse and the clouds nearby. It’s the same impression when we see a full
Moon either rising or setting on the horizon – it looks larger than what
it actually is, an optical illusion.
All too soon, the 32 seconds of the eclipse had passed and the eclipse
watchers were all treated to the glorious diamond ring again, with more
cheers from the audience. This was the greatest show on the Earth and
our admission was worth every cent. Everybody hugged each other and relived
those few precious seconds. “Too damned short”, “its just superb”, “the
most spectacular thing I have ever seen”, were some of the comments. At
8:30pm, Ceduna again was plunged into darkness for the second time in less
than an hour as night came. A party atmosphere and fireworks followed later
and was a fitting end to a most wonderful eclipse day. Thank you Ceduna.
The rest of the trip saw us in the Barossa Valley region sampling
some fine wines and then the uneventful flight back to Tassy after a
very successful and unique trip.
Story by Peter Sayers. Some photos by Peter Sayers, but
most of them were taken by Jon Clapton. (Jon has a better camera than
I do!)
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