Partial Eclipse of my Heart

The moon is still not completely clear of the sun in the UK but I wanted to upload some of my photos and get out my thoughts on the whole experience. 

I suppose the first thing I should say is that my tea box pinhole viewer worked pretty well. It took me a couple tries to line it up and for a moment or two I thought I had done something wrong, but once I saw that round speck of light, I got fairly excited. 

I decided to watch the celestial event from the garden just outside my flat. I had a great view there and I was near enough to grab a cup of tea if I needed one. I went out just before 8:26 in the morning when the eclipse was due to start.

I'm really sorry about the blurriness but both my camera and my phone were quite unhappy trying to adequately capture this experience. If you want to see impressive photos do a Google search.

Ever so slowly, that round dot of light started to be squished into a sliver. It was pretty cool to watch. After about twenty minutes some of the maintenance and cleaning crew for my building started to walk by. Everyone wanted to take a glimpse through the viewer. A solar eclipse is a great way to meet people.

As we neared the height of the eclipse, other watchers began to filter into the garden. Some had protective glasses, others were using cards, and still another was watching from the fourth floor using a telescope.

Again, sorry for the blurriness but I think you get the idea.

At 9:32 the sun was nearly covered completely by the moon. I took off my sunglasses and it was the oddest thing. The quality of the sunlight had changed drastically. It wasn't a warm yellow but a cool, greenish sort of light. For me, that was the coolest part of the experience. Everything seemed odd in that light and I could understand why my ancestors viewed eclipses as terrifying. That sickly green light isn't something I'll forget, it was pretty amazing.

After about ten more minutes, folks began to head back inside. The shadow over the dot of light in my viewer had crossed over and was slowly disappearing. 

I had been standing outside for an hour and a half and despite it being the first day of spring, my hands were numb with the cold. I headed indoors and to my delight, I could still check on the eclipse from my window. I poured myself a cup of earl grey and began to look back over my photos.

I am thrilled to bits I finally got to experience a solar eclipse. I find it bizarrely difficult to capture my thoughts about it. In some ways, it exceeded my expectations. That incredible change in the quality of light was beyond fascinating. Even as I type this, there is still a hint of green in the yellow rays coming through my window. In other ways, it was a little less amazing than I wanted it to be. Watching it through a pinhole viewer was cool, but I think next time I'd like to see it with my own eyes. I couldn't shake the nearly uncontrollable desire to turn around and see the moon over the sun for myself. It's a very human thing to want to see for oneself. It makes the experience that much more real. I felt a bit like Perseus at times, only able to see Medusa through a polished shield. I've often wondered as I've read that myth and watched Clash of the Titans (the original one of course) if I would have the restraint not to look at the Gorgon. I suppose today proves I would, but it doesn't mean that I wouldn't love the opportunity to sneak a peek and risk being turned to stone. Perhaps in another twenty-one years I'll get that chance.

For now, I think I'll take one last look...