Stephan Heinsius - Solar Eclipses
Solar Eclipses in Dreieich-Dreieichenhain,
Germany 1976-1996
October 12, 1996
The partial solar eclipse in the afternoon on October 12, 1996 was visible
from Dreieich-Dreieichenhain, Germany having good eclipse observation conditions.
Only parts of the time some high cirrus clouds created a strong light dispersion
near the sun. So sometimes the sun crescent could not distinguish well
from the background. The projection method used to project the sun crescent
everywhere you like worked surprisingly well. During the eclipse maximum
surrounding birds went much more silent. These minutes you could feel a
breath of a strange subduedness, which filled the yellow October sun lighted
surroundings. How would it be at a total solar eclipse? Three other years
to go to 1999, when sun's totality would come over Germany.
The picture shows the partial solar eclipse, captured with an Olympus
OM2 through a Revue refractor (f=910mm, D=60mm), 1/1000 second exposed
on Fuji100 negative film.
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May 10, 1994
Only a few summery cumulus clouds sometimes interfered with the view to
the partial solar eclipse at early evening on May 10, 1994 in Dreieich-Dreieichenhain,
Germany. With sinking sun some nice views were possible, like the sun crescent
beside the chestnut blossom. Sky turned to soft yellow and orange colours.
Shortly after taking the picture with the chestnut blossom the partial
eclipsed sun disappeared behind a bank of clouds. Unexpectedly the sun
came out again shortly before sunset, appearing in a pale red, then sinking
into the grey of haze before reaching the horizon. Most parts of the solar
eclipse I viewed from my garden like 1984.
May 30, 1984
May 30, 1984 in Dreieich-Dreieichenhain, Germany showed up with a lot of
rain and clouds. In the afternoon before the eclipse I went outside to
watch the weather, and to see if clear skies would come up in time. Indeed
it went brighter and rain abated. Cloud holes were coming from the north
and east! It became clear with a range of sight of about 80 kilometers.
In the west the Rheingau mountains were visible. Still it was very wet.
I fetched my observation equipment, consisting of a Revue refractor (f=910mm,
D=60mm) and a Olympus OM2 camera with Tokina tele zoom lens 80-200mm and
tele converter.
I watched the eclipse from my garden, with
an open view to the west. Sky cleared up. The cloud holes grew and actually:
the sun came out eclipsed with a super sight. That was the first time I
could capture a solar eclipse photographically.
Then clouds came again. The sun could only be seen from time to time.
During the eclipse maximum at 20:09 CEST the sun could not be seen, but
shortly before and after it. Then the sun came out again only one more
time.
Altogether the partial eclipsed sun showed up shortly after passage
of a cold front. Except the first cloud hole small ones had to be sufficient
to observe the solar eclipse between fast moving clouds.
The picture shows a coloured pencil drawing, which I made remembering
after the eclipse. It shows the first and larger cloud hole, in which the
eclipsed sun occurred. The sky's blue is not visible on the photos due
to the short exposure times.
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The picture of the solar eclipse of May 30, 1984 behind clouds was
taken with an Olympus OM2 through a Revue refractor (f=910mm, D=60mm) and
2x tele converter at f=1820mm and was exposed 1/1000 second on Fuji100
negative film.
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Picture of the solar eclipse of May 30, 1984 in Dreieich-Dreieichenhain,
Germany, taken with an Olympus OM2 and Tokina tele zoom 80-200mm and 2x
tele converter at 400mm, 1/1000 second exposed at f22 (f44) on Fuji100
negative film.
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December 4, 1983
On a clear sky December day the partial solar eclipse was visible through
the telescope (Revue refractor f=910mm, D=60mm with Revue sun filter) at
about 13:20 CET in Dreieich-Dreieichenhain, Germany. I interrupted lunch
and could recognize the eclipse for a few minutes as a small dent at the
sun's limb - the first solar eclipse I saw through a telescope. I was enthused,
how clearly it could be seen, even if there was only 1/1000 of the sun's
disk covered during maximum eclipse. I didn't see any sun spots. The observation
site Dreieich-Dreieichenhain, Germany lay at the northern edge of the penumbral
zone. I didn't make any photographs of the solar eclipse.
December 15, 1982
On that day Dreieich-Dreieichenhain, Germany had bad weather conditions
with overcast sky, snow and rain. So I could unfortunately not see the
eclipse.
July 20, 1982
For that eclipse the first time I brought in position an astronomical equipment
for solar eclipse observation. My Revue refractor (f=910mm, D=60mm) with
an Olympus OM2 camera and tele converter for capturing the sun at 1820mm
focal length. The solar eclipse should begin at the observation site Dreieich-Dreieichenhain,
Germany at 21:04 CEST, lasting only a few minutes up to sun set. Although
the sun was shining, I could see nothing of the eclipse, because the sun
disappeared at 21:04 in strong haze, before reaching the horizon. On the
one photo I took at 1820mm focal length before, the eclipse can not be
seen.
April 29, 1976
The first solar eclipse I experienced, I viewed at the age of 12 on April
29, 1976. With a soot blackened diving mask not knowingly I exposed my
eyes the danger of strong infrared radiation, which can damage eyes up
to blindness. On my request my mother gave me the diving mask for eclipse
observation at school. It was a clear nice spring day. I watched the eclipse
during the second break from schoolyard, and later through windows of one
of the inner yards of the just new erected Weibelfeld school in Dreieich-Dreieichenhain,
Germany and let interested classmates take their looks. I was the last
one, who had entered the classroom after the break. After school nothing
of the suncovering moon could be seen any more. I thought, that someday
it must fit for a total eclipse. Sometime I got to know that in the far
far future, in the year 1999 it should be on in Germany.
Design and contents:
Stephan Heinsius,
D-63303 Dreieich
©SH 2002 - all rights reserved
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