Partial Solar Eclipse, 12th October 1996

The eclipse of 1996 was one of the relatively few "genuine" partial eclipses i.e. those where the centre of the moon's shadow misses the earth, as opposed to the partial type seen when one is not on the centre-line of a total eclipse. Partials are nothing like as spectacular as totals, but make up for it to some extent by being visible over a much greater area. However, they are surprisingly easy to miss because the sun is so bright (and our eyes are so good at compensating for minor variations in sunlight due to clouds etc.) that even the obscuration of a large proportion of the sun's disc does not make much difference to the perceived light level.

I will freely admit that even I was taken unawares by this one! One of our neighbours alerted us to the fact that something was going on, wherupon I made a mad dash for whatever equipment I could muster to view and record the event. I didn't have anything fancy like eclipse specs then, so the only real option was exposed photographic film in the form of "blank" slides. Several of these placed together worked fine visually, so I tried stuffing them into a filter holder which I then mounted in front of a telephoto lens. This Heath-Robinson contraption just about worked, but produced shots that are perhaps more decorative than scientific! The very narrow field of view through the "filter" produced a weird ghostly effect, with the deep blue colour of the slides adding yet more "visual interest"! However, they do still give an impression of the moment so I show them here for the record.

  Pictures of the eclipse