We were there sometime around noon. The temperature was 47C ( 118F ). Many other people were already there, and many more to come. Americans, Japanese, Italians and even French afraid not to have clear skies at home. The Lebanese LBCI Television was also there and did a marvelous covering. It took us a couple of minutes to flock around and choose a spot on the crowded hill overlooking the river.
The Total Eclipse started at 14:44 local time ( 12:44 GMT ) and lasted 2 mn 6 sec.
No need to say, they were the longest two minutes we ever lived!
No one among us had ever witnessed such an event, so we had to rely on published articles, specially the one by Richard Talbot in Astronomy magazine issue of August 1999.
It was hard though for our eyes to see " how sharp our shadow appears ", some 30 mn before Totality.
But around 20 mn before the big event, the shadows under the only tree around did offer an exhilarating sight. " As sunlight filters through the gaps between leaves, each serves as a pinhole and projects an image of the eclipsed sun" .
Some minutes before totality, Venus appeared and remained the only star we ever saw during Totality. No Mercury, no Sirius, no Procyon ... not to talk about the Big Dipper or Orion. Nobody ever gave an explanation why!
In the final minute before Totality, tore between Baily's beads and the shadow of the moon rushing at some 1500 miles per hour, I missed both events, but was lucky to see the first Diamond Ring, because I had removed my safety glasses while looking west for the moon shadow.
If I had followed the instructions I would have missed it, because the article says that " once the Diamond Ring disappears, it's safe to take off any solar filter and enjoy the glory of Totality ", while you should remove the filters when the thinning crescent is nearly half a millimeter thick and enjoy the glory of the Diamond Ring and Totality. Otherwise, you'll be doing like the local TV. They kept the filters on even during Totality and missed everything.
See you on the next one, on March 29th, 2006 ... in the Mediterranean Sea, south of Crete, on some greek island or in Turkey.
