Little by little the sun went out

It began at precisely 5.52 p.m. The dark shadow of the moon began to edge into the brilliant disc of the sun. Through the filtered glass it looked like a tiny corner had been bitten off the glowing, orange sun.

Very, very, slowly the shadow increased. But to the naked eye the brilliance of the evening sunshine had hardly reduced. At 6.45pm the shadow peaked, covering more than 60 percent of the sun. Through the filter, the setting sun appeared like a crescent moon turned upside down. A glowing, orange sickle of brilliance, covered by the gloomy shadow of Earth's only satellite.

Meanwhile on television the entire world gasped as total darkness descended on London, parts of Iran, Northern Pakistan and India. The full eclipse lasted two minutes and 23 seconds- two and a half minutes of eerie silence and darkness upon the earth.

Enthusiasm was running high among the largely junior crowd gathered on the rooftop of the Eye Donation Society building in Colombo 7 as we watched what was popularly called the last eclipse of the millenium. Many enthusiasts were from the Astronomical Society but surprising were the number of young - five to ten year olds- who were most interested in the eclipse. Even the reluctant parents and older siblings who had to accompany the youngsters turned quiet as the eclipse began- especially when they realised that many television stations were airing the moment live across the country.

Sir Arthur Clarke, a rare visitor, on the rooftop watching the partial eclipse would disagree. He says the new millennium should rightly dawn on the eve of 2001. Therefore, the last eclipse of the millennium will occur next year- next June.

Just before we began the eclipse watch, Dr. Chandana Jayaratne, senior lecturer in Physics of the University of Kelaniya treated the crowd to a video of a full eclipse in India recorded by Arthur C. Clarke.

"A full eclipse is an awesome experience," said Sir Clarke. "It's a really terrifying moment."

He said though it was fine to see a partial eclipse, nothing could compare to the awe inspired by a full one. On the video, Indians shrieked in panic and cocks crowed in confusion as the moon's shadow moved completely across the sun.

"I have seen full eclipses from air , land and sea," Sir Clarke said.

The best moment of the eclipse, he said, is when the moon totally covers the sun and the sun's corona becomes visible. This beautiful spectacle looks like a ring of flames around the darkened circle. While normally one should never look directly into sunlight, at this point you can stare at the sun all you want, taking care to avert your eyes as soon as the shadow passes and the sunrays peek through.

In June 1955, Sri Lanka or Ceylon as it was known, was the best spot from which to watch the full eclipse, whose path fell mostly over the Indian Ocean. Many scientists and eclipse enthusiasts from all over the world gathered here to see it. But the weather gods would have none of it. The day was terribly overcast with heavy monsoon clouds and many went back in frustration.

Total eclipses are possible for a strange reason- two, actually. The sun is 400 times larger than the moon and is positioned 400 times the distance from earth to moon. Because of this phenomenon at a point when the earth, moon and sun come into one straight line, the shadow of the moon totally covers the surface of the sun.

Dr. Jayaratne said an eclipse was important because the number of total eclipses will gradually reduce. He opined that due to tidal attraction the moon's orbit will slow down and the satellite will be gradually pulled away from the earth. From its present position of 384000 km from the earth the moon will, in millions of years, move further and further ending up 545000 km away. Then the moon will orbit at the same speed as the earth and eclipses and even the lunar calendar will be lost to us.

In another aeon, the moon will again travel closer to the earth, said Dr. Jayaratne. This time it will move so close, in fact, that the gravitational pull will make it orbit faster and faster, until the force becomes unbearable. "The moon will probably shatter for the force," he said.

Next year too Sri Lanka will probably see a partial eclipse. In June 2001, a full eclipse will cover areas of Africa, Angola, Zambia and Mozambique. In 2005 and 2008 Sri Lanka will probably see partial eclipses.

"I have not yet charted the route of the 2008 eclipse. It may be seen in total in Sri Lanka," Dr. Jayaratne said.

More Plus

Return to the Plus Contents