That Was The Eclipse That Was
Well the solar eclipse of 2015 in the UK came and went around 9:30 this morning, and it was as so often happens in the UK a non-event.
That doesn't mean it didn't happen, because I am sure it did, and the sky did go a bit darker, but since the whole of the south of England was covered in thick cloud from well before sunrise until "whenever it decides to clear", not only could you not see the eclipse, the cloud was so thick that you couldn't even tell where in the sky the sun was supposed to be.
Yes the sky did go darker, but really it was no darker than on any other gloomy day when there is thick cloud, so as I said, it was really a non-event.
It's sad really, because in the UK we rarely get to see good eclipses, and when something like this happens the sky is often cloudy.
Few of us can afford to fly off to some exotic location to go and watch an eclipse, so quite likely this could have been my last opportunity to see one.
I was fortunate enough to see an almost complete solar eclipse in Florida about 15 years ago, which was amazing to watch, but I really do wish I could see more of them, along with meteor showers and of course the Arora Borealis. Meteor showers in the UK are also hard to see, because either the light of the city obscures much of the activity in the night sky, the meteors peak in the middle of the night when I am asleep in bed, it's too cold to stand outside for long to watch then, or it's cloudy and raining.
Hopefully if the eclipse was visible from where you live you got to see it and enjoyed it. If so, please leave a comment and let me know.
Comments
HappyLady wrote on March 20, 2015, 6:35 AM
What is odd here is that I did accidentally see the sun reflected in a car. Then I gave up amusing the neighbours trying out the sieve idea. It did not work. It went slightly dark and now it looks very bright outside. I also notice my asthma has got a lot better this morning.
MegL wrote on March 20, 2015, 7:53 AM
It was reasonably clear up here in Northern Ireland, which I was surprised about but the sun was too bright, even when at full eclipse to be able to see the shadow, however, it got very dim, which was surprising when you could tell from the shadows that sun was shining! The birds went quiet.
agvulpes wrote on March 20, 2015, 7:59 AM
That eclipse did not happen over our part of the world but I have been lucky enough to photograph one way back in the 70s on Transparencies. If you like I will see if I can find the slides and put them up here after I Digitise them ?
Hollyhocks100 wrote on March 20, 2015, 8:51 AM
The weather was so bad here I went back to bed and slept through it. Low cloud and rain made it impossible to see the mountains right next to my home, let alone the cloud, but I might have noticed a darkening had I not been in the land of nod. My sister in York said in an email they had sunshine this morning and she was waiting to see the eclipse. I´m in Spain BTW.
poddys wrote on March 20, 2015, 9:10 AM
I can imagine thousands of frustrated teachers and pupils waiting for the sky to clear and not being able to see anything. So much excitement and preparation, and then just disappointment.
poddys wrote on March 20, 2015, 9:55 AM
Funny how the birds go quiet, it's like they know something is different. Nice you got to see the sun. It's bright here now too.
poddys wrote on March 20, 2015, 9:56 AM
That would be nice, thanks. I brought my camera to work and was going to go out and try and take some photos, but it just wasn't worth it.
1poddys wrote on March 20, 2015, 9:57 AM
Wish we were in Spain! Going "glamping" south of Barcelone with friends in August though :)
LeaPea2417 wrote on March 20, 2015, 11:07 AM
I wish I had lived closer to the event, but oh well, maybe next time it happens, I will get to observe it.
poddys wrote on March 20, 2015, 3:19 PM
I rarely do live close to these events unfortunately. I was frustrated to read that at Stonehenge which is only 40 miles away from us they did see the eclipse as they celebrated the first day of Spring. Would have been good to be there.
BarbRad wrote on March 20, 2015, 10:12 PM
I'm afraid I didn't go out looking for it. I saw part of a lunar eclipse once when I was in high school. It's good to see you back here. Hope you stick around for a while.
arthurchappell wrote on March 21, 2015, 4:46 AM
far too much cloud cover in my neighbourhood sadly so I saw nothing of it
poddys wrote on March 25, 2015, 3:44 PM
I would have gone out from the office to look, but the sky was so overcast you couldn't even tell where the sun was supposed to be. Hoping to stick around, good to be back with friends.
poddys wrote on March 25, 2015, 3:45 PM
Well there is another in 16 years or so, assuming we are still alive and kicking and still have our eyesight. It's rare events like this that make you realise just how short our lives are.
AudreyHowitt wrote on March 30, 2015, 6:43 PM
It was a nonevent for us as well here in California--good to see you here!
AliCanary wrote on January 3, 2016, 8:56 AM
That tends to be the story where I live, too--oh, we have plenty of clear nights, but just let there be something cool happening, like a rare moon or a comet or a meteor shower, and HERE COME THE CLOUDS. Bleah. Missed the rare Christmas full moon, as well, for that reason.