As the moon revealed the sun again at third contact
with a spectacular diamond ring, everyone celebrated the wonderful phenomenon
of totality we just experienced. As I noticed the ambient light level
rapidly increase as the moon slowly revealed the sun again, I could tell
that totality had brought a drop in temperature, which was quite refreshing
and even a bit more noticeable shortly after the eclipse. I put the
solar filters back on my binoculars and telescope so we could continue
to enjoy the partial phases. I took a couple of partial phase photographs
with my telescope (see photos below) before removing the camera and T-mount
and replacing it with the star diagonal and eyepiece. With the help
of the hotel staff, I quickly punched some holes in a piece of poster board
spelling out "ATMoB" (group organizing
the trip). I used the well-known pinhole projection effect to project
solar crescents onto the ground (see photo below). I eventually made
my way down to the grassed area where the rest of the ATMoB
group was, and started to exchange ideas and thoughts about what we just
experienced. After a late lunch, I continued to monitor the eclipse
until fourth contact at 2:12:57 p.m., when the moon finally moved completely
off the sun’s disk. Most members of the ATMoB group were eager to
return to the Heviz Hotel, so that they could maximize the use of the mineral
baths--the departure time was set to be 2:30 p.m. Everyone had less
equipment than me, so they were ready before me. A couple of group
members helped me pack up my equipment and carry it down to the bus so
I only delayed the group about 15 minutes. During the ride back from
Balatonfüred
to the Heviz Hotel, everyone talked about what they saw, what went right
with their set ups, and what went wrong--Murphy's law is definitely a force
to be contended with on eclipse day as any eclipse veteran would tell you.
Luckily, it did not apply to me this time!
That evening in the mineral baths at the Heviz, the
talk was all about the eclipse. There was even discussion on the
next total solar eclipse (June
21, 2001), which will be visible in the south Atlantic Ocean and Africa.
The path of totality will cross portions of Angola, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Mozambique,
and Madagascar. The prospect of combining a safari in Zambia or Zimbabwe
with a solar eclipse sure sounds like an interesting adventure. After
a nice dinner (with more eclipse discussion and celebration of course)
with ornately dressed Hungarian couples dancing, the group got together
for a post-eclipse discussion. Each person on the trip got up in
front of group and gave a brief description of what they saw and experienced,
and what the eclipse meant to them. Some people gave scientific descriptions,
others spiritual descriptions, and still others had composed poetry.
One lady, a professional singer, sang a song about the eclipse and events
leading up to it. A fellow from California used his laptop to show
us the digital pictures he had taken (see below). It was interesting
to hear each person experienced the eclipse differently. It was certainly
a great summation of the last total solar eclipse of the second millennium.
Very early the next morning, began my trek home with a two hour ride to
the Budapest airport and flight to Zurich for a day in Switzerland before
returning to Boston on Friday afternoon.
