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Chasing the shadow--top tips for taking the perfect eclipse picture

March 02, 1999

The sun will be the star of the show at a lecture demonstration evening at the Institute of Physics in London on Monday 8 March. Two highly entertaining and authoritative speakers will explain what we in the UK can do to make the most of the once-in-a-lifetime event on 11 August 1999 when the sun will disappear from our skies during the total solar eclipse.

Dr Francisco Diego from the Department of Physics and Astronomy at University College London will explain exactly what will happen during the eclipse, why it is so special and what scientists can learn from it. HJP ("Douglas") Arnold, managing director of a specialist astronomy and space-flight photographic library and formerly head of public relations at Kodak Limited, will demonstrate the best ways to photograph the phenomenon with anything from a simple throwaway camera to the most sophisticated digital equipment.

A total eclipse of the sun occurs when the moon comes directly between the sun and the earth so that the earth lies in the shadow of the moon. In August the moon's shadow will first appear on the earth's surface in the North Atlantic, moving east across the earth at an average rate that is over 100 times the speed of a grand prix car, and will cross Cornwall and the Channel Island of Alderney shortly after 11 am. The shadow then passes across mainland Europe, the Black Sea, the Middle East, Pakistan and India and finally sweeps into the Bay of Bengal where it lifts from the face of the earth having travelled around 14 000 km in 3 hours and 7 minutes in the last total solar eclipse of this millennium.

The lecture will be followed by a reception during which there will be the chance to win prizes relating to the eclipse and to buy the latest books about photography and astronomy. An accompanying exhibition will have displays about the latest research about the sun, eclipses throughout history and the all important safety guidelines for viewing the eclipse.

The lecture starts at 6.30 pm, Monday 8 March 1999 at the Institute of Physics, 76 Portland Place, London, W1N 3DH. Entry to the lecture is free but by ticket only and all are welcome. Tickets can be obtained from Katie Perry at the Institute of Physics on 0171 470 4800.


Some fascinating facts about eclipses:

1. During an eclipse the temperature can drop by 10 degrees Fahrenheit.

2. On average, there is a total solar eclipse visible from somewhere on the earth every 18 months or so. From any one location on earth, however, total eclipses are visible on average only once in several hundred years.

3. The last total solar eclipse visible from the UK mainland was on 29 June 1927. The path of totality crossed north Wales and northern England where the weather was mostly cloudy. Totality only lasted 24 seconds.

4. The longest possible duration of totality during a solar eclipse is 7 minutes 31 seconds.

5. A total eclipse was visible from the very north of the Shetland Islands on 30 June 1954.

6. The next total solar eclipse visible on the UK mainland will be on 23 September 2090.

7. Galileo went blind from counting sunspots without protecting his eyes in any way.

8. By measuring the relative positions of stars visible during the period of totality of the eclipse of 1919 (visible in South America and Africa), Sir Arthur Eddington was able to test Einstein's theory of General Relativity for the first time.

END

Journalists requiring further information should contact Pippa Senior or Katie Perry, Public Affairs Department, Institute of Physics on 0171-470 4800 or email: philippa.senior@iop.org



British Psychological Society (BPS)