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Nuclear Ninety North
Eclipse of the Midnight Sun
August 1st, 2008 |
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Eclipse Day
2008-08-01 10:25 UTC |
Click images for reduced size. |
75°56.69'N 54°59.05'E |
Shortly before the eclipse was to begin, the sky was partly
cloudy and we banked our hopes on the ability to run for a
hole in the clouds.
2008-08-01 10:40 UTC |
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75°56.69'N 54°59.05'E |
In the distance off the stern of the ship, the northwest coast of
Novaya Zemlya
was visible. This island was used between 1955 and 1990 as
a test site for atmospheric and underground nuclear explosions,
including the 50 megaton
Tsar Bomba in 1961,
the largest nuclear explosion of all time. Much of the
island is a restricted area where landings are forbidden,
and hence our eclipse observations would be from shipboard.
2008-08-01 11:03 UTC |
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75°56.69'N 54°59.05'E |
Shortly after first contact, the partially eclipsed Sun was
visible from time to time through the clouds. At other times,
denser clouds would render the disc entirely invisible. All
of the photographs of partial phases were taken using only the
clouds as a solar filter: no neutral density filter was used
on the lens.
2008-08-01 11:04 UTC |
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75°56.69'N 54°59.05'E |
A patch of blue sky was visible on the horizon (note the direct
sunlight falling on the ocean in the distance), but the clouds
appeared to be advancing toward it faster than the ship could
travel at maximum speed. At this point, consequently, the ship
remained stationary in the hope of a clear patch appearing.
2008-08-01 11:10 UTC |
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75°56.69'N 54°59.05'E |
2008-08-01 11:16 UTC |
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75°56.69'N 54°59.05'E |
With the clouds continuing to obscure the partial phases of the
eclipse and totality approaching, the captain was persuaded
to make a run for the clear spot. He turned the ship, placing the Sun
off the port bow (confounding a number of photographers, including
this one, who had set up their equipment based on the expected
bearing of the Sun at totality), and headed for the break
in the clouds at maximum speed, around 21 knots. This resulted
in a brisk breeze across the deck and a strong vibration as the
ship reached its maximum hull speed. This would have consequences
for eclipse photography, as we shall see.
2008-08-01 11:32 UTC |
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75°56.74'N 54°58.45'E |
2008-08-01 11:35 UTC |
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75°56.74'N 54°58.45'E |
We continued to race for the hole in the clouds at maximum speed.
Note how the light had begun to change as the crescent Sun
narrowed.
2008-08-01 11:38 UTC |
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75°51.16'N 54°49.77'E |
2008-08-01 11:51 UTC |
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75°50.75'N 54°49.24'E |
2008-08-01 11:56 UTC |
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75°47.96'N 54°45.43'E |
2008-08-01 11:57 UTC |
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75°47.61'N 54°45.08'E |
As the crescent narrowed, some beautiful colour effects were
visible in the clouds. Here, the Sun seems to be surrounded
by a circular rainbow. One astronomer remarked that this photo
“looks like a nebula”.
2008-08-01 11:58 UTC |
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75°46.96'N 54°44.21'E |
Almost there! Dismayingly, as the light dimmed toward second
contact, we still hadn't reached the hole in the clouds, although
the clouds obscuring the Sun had begun to thin noticeably.
2008-08-01 11:56 UTC |
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75°45.37'N 54°41.62'E |
Bailly's Beads (the last vestiges of the uncovered photosphere
shining through lunar valleys) highlighted the onset of totality.
Note the chromosphere, shining in its characteristic hydrogen
alpha red light, on either side of the beads.
2008-08-01 11:57 UTC |
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75°45.28'N 54°41.48'E |
Moments later the photosphere was completely obscured. This very
short (1/4000 second) exposure captures the inner corona and a
prominence at the 1 o'clock position.
2008-08-01 11:58 UTC |
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75°44.78'N 54°40.59'E |
As the Moon's disc advanced across the Sun, this 1/800 second
exposure captured the inner corona and the bright prominence at
the upper right. Note the coronal brush structure at the
poles.
2008-08-01 12:00 UTC |
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75°45.22'N 54°41.37'E |
This picture is far from perfect, but it's the best approximation
of any I got of the visual appearance of the eclipsed Sun. Taken
through the thin clouds obscuring the Sun and handheld at 1/20
of a second to minimise the impact of the shuddering vibration
of the ship's deck (which, coupled by a tripod directly to a camera
mounted on it, is disastrous for long focal length lenses and/or
long exposure times), it's a little blurred in the vertical axis by
the vibration but not that bad as far as the rendering of the
corona. This was taken not long after totality, and the chromosphere
imparts a reddish hue to the just-eclipsed lower left limb of the
Sun. North and South polar brushes are visible, as well as the two
prominent coronal streamers on the left side of the Sun. The
streamer at the 7 o'clock position extended visually for several
solar diameters—much farther than is perceptible in this
picture.
2008-08-01 11:59 UTC |
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75°44.69'N 54°40.43'E |
Moments before third contact, the chromosphere became visible in a
large arc at the right side of the Sun.
2008-08-01 11:59 UTC |
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75°44.66'N 54°40.37'E |
Third contact! The diamond ring (with a modest punctuation into
beads by lunar mountain peaks on the profile) heralds the end
of totality. At this instant, the chromosphere, a prominence, and
inner corona remain visible, within milliseconds to disappear
to the earthbound unaided eye until the next total eclipse.
2008-08-01 12:16 UTC |
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75°41.80'N 54°31.03'E |
The high-resolution photographs during totality were taken with
a Nikon D300 camera and Nikkor 500 mm catadioptric
“mirror lens”, which provided the equivalent of
750 mm focal length on a 24×36 mm film camera. The same
lens was used to photograph the
1999 and
2001 solar eclipses.
2008-08-01 12:25 UTC |
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75°41.24'N 54°28.79'E |
After totality the Sun was, of course, in a pristine blue sky.
Folks engaged in the traditional entertainment of making small
apertures with their fingers and projecting images of the
crescent Sun on the ship's deck.
This document is in the public domain.