Eclipse Day!

Posted by barb on Mar 29, 2006 in Pictures, Travels |

Everyone gathering for the eclipse

Wow. Just wow!

We weren’t sure what time, exactly, the eclispe was going to start, because we’d gone through several time changes, and didn’t know which time zone our ship was currently running under. So, just after breakfast, Andrew and I staked out a claim above-deck, armed with books, our eclipse glasses, cameras, and pillows. The pool chairs had all been cleared from the deck to allow more people to congregate above deck to watch the eclipse.

As the time for the eclipse drew nearer, the deck started to fill up with people. Andrew and I had a great spot, and watched the moon “eat up” the sun through our eclipse glasses.

Andrew watching the eclipse  Disappearing sun!  Me and Astro watching the ecplise

About 15-20 mintues before totality, the light got silvery. It was an odd sensation, as the light deminished, but was still coming from straight overhead. I could feel my body saying that it was getting close to sunset, but my eyes told me something different. I can imagine the experience being even more odd for animals who don’t know what’s happening.

Totality was awesome. I didn’t get any pictures, but instead wanted to concentrate on the experience. One thing I was surprised by was that it didn’t get as dark as I was expecting. It got more like twilight, with some red around the edges of the sky, than like night itself. I could make out a couple of planets, and thought I’d spied a star or two, but the sky was still fairly light. Still the sun was spectacular. The entire ship erupted in applause and woots when the sun’s corona appeared.

Words are insufficient to describe the experience, but I can say that Andrew and I will certainly look for another opportunity to see a total eclipse again someday.

The dining room seemed charged when we arrived later that evening — it seems that everyone was still jazzed up from the eclipse. We had a fun night, with an Italian theme, dancing in a mambo line and watching waiters dance for us on a nearby table.

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