In the shadow of the moon
Oooo... Nearly 130 days now without a smoke. And the strange thing is, it's now only when I look at this blog that I actually remember - such is the distance between me and a ciggy now. Having said those "famous last words" I'll be on 30 B&H a day by Friday. Oh poo.
So, on Sunday I fly to Turkey. Never been there before, and it's out of season. So why, you're asking, am I heading to the elbow of the mediterranean when the pubs are still open in Blighty? Well, dear reader, it turns out that the next total solar eclipse passes over a thin stretch of Turkey next Wednesday 29th March at about 5 minutes to two local time.
Solar eclipses are funny things. I've actually traveled a fair old distance to see two of them in the past; but on both occasions I watched clouds.
The first bite of the eclipse bug was in 1999, when the shadow of the moon passed over the bottom of England, through Europe then raced off into Asia. Because eclipses don't happen in the same place very often (on average every 300 years, I'm told), England got quite excited about the 1999 track; and given that it was England, me and a couple of friends decided to head south into France to get the best chance of clear skies and a longer total eclipse. We drove down in the car the night before and parked up in Noyen, just north of Paris. Three of us spent a very uncomfortable night in a Vauxhall Cavalier followed by standing in a wet field for many hours before watching thick clouds overhead at the moment of the eclipse itself. Strangely, this didn't put us off. Even though the clouds obscured our view, the actual feeling you experience during a total eclipse is eerie and unique. The pressure drops, the bird song stops and you get a feeling inside as though your stomach is being sucked out of your toes. It's pretty wild.
So, addicted "eclipse chasers" (as the street parlance goes), we headed to Ibiza in 2005 for the next chance to see an eclipse in Europe. This one was "annular", which meant the moon was just a little further away from the earth than during the 1999 event, so at the point of maximum eclipse, the sun still circled the moon; like a ring of fire.
The gods, of course, dug the knife in an twisted that day. Whilst the sky was clear when we awoke, by the time of first contact (when the disc of the moon first encroaches on the sun), clouds had gathered and it almost looked like rain. In an ironic twist, by the afternoon, and well after the eclipse had finished, it was a bright sunny afternoon with not a cloud in the sky. I. however, was far too depressed to be enjoying any sun bathing that day.
And so to Turkey. Third time the charm, so they say. And this one is a particularly good one to catch. Over 3 minutes and 40 seconds of totality in Side, Turkey; which in Eclipse terms is a monster. The 2017 total eclipse, which is the next one to touch the shores of the United States, is only 2 minutes 40 seconds at its maximum point in Kentucky.
History suggests there's a 50/50 chance of clear skies above Side on the 29th March. But the confusing thing for eager eclipse chasers like me is that the long range forecasts (which are just starting to appear) are all in conflict. The BBC think it will be cloudy. Accuweather say partly cloudy. Weather.com say sunny. I don't know who to believe, but they can't all be right.
All I can hope for is that at 13.57 on the small stretch of sand that I'll have set my tripod up next Wednesday, there will be a gap in the cloud just long enough for me to see my first eclipse live. God knows I've put enough time in to deserve it this time. And if it is cloudy, I might just have a cigarette afterwards to console myself...
So, on Sunday I fly to Turkey. Never been there before, and it's out of season. So why, you're asking, am I heading to the elbow of the mediterranean when the pubs are still open in Blighty? Well, dear reader, it turns out that the next total solar eclipse passes over a thin stretch of Turkey next Wednesday 29th March at about 5 minutes to two local time.
Solar eclipses are funny things. I've actually traveled a fair old distance to see two of them in the past; but on both occasions I watched clouds.
The first bite of the eclipse bug was in 1999, when the shadow of the moon passed over the bottom of England, through Europe then raced off into Asia. Because eclipses don't happen in the same place very often (on average every 300 years, I'm told), England got quite excited about the 1999 track; and given that it was England, me and a couple of friends decided to head south into France to get the best chance of clear skies and a longer total eclipse. We drove down in the car the night before and parked up in Noyen, just north of Paris. Three of us spent a very uncomfortable night in a Vauxhall Cavalier followed by standing in a wet field for many hours before watching thick clouds overhead at the moment of the eclipse itself. Strangely, this didn't put us off. Even though the clouds obscured our view, the actual feeling you experience during a total eclipse is eerie and unique. The pressure drops, the bird song stops and you get a feeling inside as though your stomach is being sucked out of your toes. It's pretty wild.
So, addicted "eclipse chasers" (as the street parlance goes), we headed to Ibiza in 2005 for the next chance to see an eclipse in Europe. This one was "annular", which meant the moon was just a little further away from the earth than during the 1999 event, so at the point of maximum eclipse, the sun still circled the moon; like a ring of fire.
The gods, of course, dug the knife in an twisted that day. Whilst the sky was clear when we awoke, by the time of first contact (when the disc of the moon first encroaches on the sun), clouds had gathered and it almost looked like rain. In an ironic twist, by the afternoon, and well after the eclipse had finished, it was a bright sunny afternoon with not a cloud in the sky. I. however, was far too depressed to be enjoying any sun bathing that day.
And so to Turkey. Third time the charm, so they say. And this one is a particularly good one to catch. Over 3 minutes and 40 seconds of totality in Side, Turkey; which in Eclipse terms is a monster. The 2017 total eclipse, which is the next one to touch the shores of the United States, is only 2 minutes 40 seconds at its maximum point in Kentucky.
History suggests there's a 50/50 chance of clear skies above Side on the 29th March. But the confusing thing for eager eclipse chasers like me is that the long range forecasts (which are just starting to appear) are all in conflict. The BBC think it will be cloudy. Accuweather say partly cloudy. Weather.com say sunny. I don't know who to believe, but they can't all be right.
All I can hope for is that at 13.57 on the small stretch of sand that I'll have set my tripod up next Wednesday, there will be a gap in the cloud just long enough for me to see my first eclipse live. God knows I've put enough time in to deserve it this time. And if it is cloudy, I might just have a cigarette afterwards to console myself...
