Total Solar Eclipse
Zimbabwe, June 21, 2001


More than a little artistic license in this picture!



Tour arranged by
Civilized Adventures of Calgary, Alberts, Canada




Our observing site was near the eclipse centre-line, in Zimbabwe.
We were in the foot-hills, north of Harare, in the Zambezi River Valley,
on the north side of the Mavuradonha Mountains.
The nearest town was Centenary to the south.

Geographical measurements by GPS:
16° 22.058' S Lat.
31° 01.296' E Long.
Altitude: 477m



Adapted from: http://sunearth.gsfc.nasa.gov/eclipse/SEmono/TSE2001/TSE2001fig/TSE2001fig03.GIF
from the Total Solar Eclipse of 2001 JUNE 21 bulletin by Fred Espenak


Viewing site in Zimbabwe relative to the city of Harare.
Captured from Mapblast.


Estimated eclipse values for this location:
1st contact at 11:48:33.9 UT (13:48:33.9 Local Time); Az. 325° Alt. +42°
2nd contact at 13:13:37.4 UT (15:13:37.4 Local Time); Az. 309° Alt. +28°
Totality mid-point at 13:15:07.8 UT (15:15:07.8 Local Time); Az. 308° Alt. +27°
(Duration of Totality: 3 min 3.8 sec)
(Magnitude of Eclipse at Maximum: 1.014)
(Ratio of size of moon/sun: 1.043)
3rd contact at 13:16:41.2 UT (15:16:41.2 Local Time); Az. 308° Alt. +27°
4th contact at 14:28:50.5 UT (16:28:50.56 Local Time); Az. 299° Alt. +13°


Lecturers on TOUR:
Eclipse / Tour Coordinator and Lecturer: Allen Dyer, Royal Astronomical Society of Canda, Calgary Centre,
Biology / Tour Coordinator and Lecturer: Garth Irvine Calgary Zoo, Calgary, Alberta








Always hopeful eclipse photographer: Bill Ronald



Photographs
(Click on the icons)

Pre-eclipse Test Pictures
Eclipse Partial Phases
Eclipse Totality
People
Animals
Birds
Plants - coming soon



Sky map over Southern Africa at time of totality, showing area around Sun/Moon.
Stars and deep sky objects are down to mag. 2.
Prepared with SkyMap Pro v 6.




Shadow over Southern Africa as seen from space.
Prepared with Starry Night Deluxe v.2.1.



Commemorative Eclipse Stamp

Impressions

The hardest part of viewing a total eclipse is trying to tell someone who has never seen one, what you experienced. If you are like me, you get involved in recording pictures, temperatures, shadow bands, etc. My experience as second contact arrives is not one of serenity but one of frenetic activity. However, I always leave time to look around me at the landscape, to grab my binoculars which are hanging around my neck and just look.

The time between the last corona exposure and the diamond ring at third contact is "my" time. This time it was the same, with the black hole in the sky, the bright blaze of the corona, the red prominences; "say isn't that one a bit like the hanging one in 1999?" There was the same amazing excitement when I got my first magnified view and saw Jupiter off to the side. There was also a difference, because I was very aware that I was in Africa. The heat, the smells, the sounds, the silhouettes of the trees told me that things were different and it added an exotic mood to the already exciting experience. As usual time flew by; in fact it seems like every time I view it, totality gets shorter. But there are two things that I can tell those who ask. First, "No, it never gets boring" and second, "Yes, I want to go to the next one."



Photographic Observations

Test Pictures:
Photographic setups, consisting of a camera back, a Vista 508 telescope, a cable release, an Orion (JMB Class "A") solar filter, and 2x and/or 3x tele-converters, were each mounted on a tripod with anti-vibration pads and tested for image quality and resolution. The testing took place in Vancouver, on a wooden deck, under clear skies, on several occasions in 1999, with Fuji Superia 200 and 400 print films. The results of one set of tests can be seen in the attached figure.

Eclipse Pictures:
The final configuration chosen for the eclipse was as follows:

Nikon FM2n manual camera back
Sky-Watcher telescope (Vista 508: a wide field 80mm f/5 which acted as a fixed focal length 400mm f5 lens)
Vivitar 2x and 3x tele-converters
Cable releases
Orion solar filter (actually a J.M.B. Inc. Class "A" filter)
Baader Planetarium AstroSolar solar filter
Manfrotto #190SH tripod with #410 geared head
Bag attached to tripod legs and filled with stones
Fujica 2x eyepiece magnifier
Celestron Star Pointer (with a mylar filter and a black sun shield)





Temperature Measurements

This eclipse I decided to try to measure the temperature changes during the eclipse.
I obtained three -F50 Thermochron iButtons from Dallas Semiconductor.
These units are programmable chips which can be set to collect temperature data at intervals as low as one per minute with an accuracy of 0.5° C within a temperature range of -10° to +85° C.
A time delay, before they start to collect data, can be programmed in and they can be set to either "roll-over" or to stop collecting when the sample buffer is full. For this application, roll-over is not wanted.

Preliminary tests:
Test #1 - Test of sun-shading using "dixie cup" and "3-inch fluted cone" shades
Test #2 - Test of sun-shading using "4-inch fluted cone" and "4-inch awning" shades
Test #3 - Calibration of -F50 Thermochrons. by immersion, against "standard" thermometers

Eclipse Day:
- The iButtons were each placed in a "flanged fob" holder for easier handling and then they were mounted at heights of 0cm, 30cm and 150cm above ground.
- Each iButton had a white-cardboard, "4-inch awning" sun-shade and was mounted on a 152cm seamstress' tape measure, taped to a post supporting a tarp shade.
- The iButtons were pre-programmed to turn themselves on fifteen minutes after midnight on eclipse day June 21 00:15 (UT+2) and to collect samples at one minute intervals until the buffer was full, then turn themselves off..
- They recorded the temperature to an accuracy of 0.5° C at one minute intervals for about 1.4 days, then stopped collecting.

- In order to account for time drift during the "delay" period, they were time-calibrated on eclipse morning by immersing them in ice water for two minutes (6:28 - 6:30 UT+2), and by rubbing them briskly to raise their temperatures at 22:17 (UT+2).

Results - Final data from temperature experiment carried out at eclipse site in northern Zimbabwe.


Recording Shadow Bands

Another first attempt for this eclipse was try to capture shadow bands.

I set out a 4' x 4' white sheet on the ground and pointed a Sony Hi-8 Handycam at it. The Hi-8 was mounted on a tripod and had a Tiffen circular polarizing filter. Unfortunately perhaps, there were no clouds to use to optimize the polarization, so I had to try to use the faint haze along the horizon.

Results: The ground was very rough at our site so there were many bumps and wrinkles in the sheet which gave some shadowing. However, the experiment was a success. The video definitely shows bands both before and after totality. They are very evident, and seem to be moving in one direction, before totality. After totality, they are not as strong and seem to just ripple back and forth. They are present for a longer time before totality than after it. The angle of movement is different between before and after but so far I haven't been able to capture any single frames to measure the angles and the distances between the bands




Back to Bill's Touring to Totality Page


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