[Prev][Next][Index][Thread]
Re: (meteorobs) Your response to my Introduction
In a message dated 08/01/1999 1:28:48 PM Eastern Daylight Time,
David.M.Swain@telinco.codot uk writes:
<< I'm not going to Cornwall to see totality, I don't fancy sitting in a
two day traffic jam to watch two minutes of totality, instead I'll sit here
in Cirencester and watch a 97% partial eclipse weather permitting. >>
David --
Having previously seen seven solar eclipses, I would certainly brave any
kind of traffic tie-up to get into the totality path next week. In 1970, I
was unable to get into the path of the March 7th solar eclipse, so I had to
be content to observe a partial solar eclipse from New York City -- whose
magnitude was a hefty 0.959. At mid-eclipse, a weird "counterfeit twilight"
fell over the entire region and I even got a glimpse of Venus. Certainly
interesting to say the least . . . but two years later, on July 10, 1972 . .
. I got a chance to actually see a total eclipse firsthand and was awestruck
at the difference between what I had just witnessed versus what I had seen in
New York two years earlier. More to the point, in the aftermath of the 1972
eclipse, I had wished that I was just a few years older in 1970 (I was 14),
so that I could have driven myself into the eclipse path. I have been to
many far corners of the world observing eclipses since 1972, yet I still kick
myself for missing out on the one totality that passed a scant 120 kilometers
to the south and east of my home!
By the way . . . you can read about how the 1970 and 1972 eclipses had an
impact on my life by getting a back-copy of the November 1997 Reader's Digest
in the story "The Promise."
Once again David, I wouldn't sweat the traffic. Don't make the stupid mistake
I did 29 years ago. GO! You wont regret it.
-- joe rao
To UNSUBSCRIBE from the 'meteorobs' email list, use the Web form at:
http://www.tiacdot net/users/lewkaren/meteorobs/subscribe.html