A Libyan Eclipse (Trip Report)
'..... and the temperature outside is 25º' - music to our ears as we touched down in Tripoli.
Our trip was an archaeological tour with the eclipse sandwiched in the middle. The trip began with excursions to Sabratha and Cyrene – two superb examples of Roman towns with remains of classical buildings and beautiful mosaics.
We then set out from Benghazi into the desert and headed for our camp near Jalo Oasis. It was a 5 hour journey and the only scenery, apart from sand, was the pumps along the water pipeline which looked remarkably like black swan necks. As we approached Jalo, we were met by enthusiastic locals. One interesting leaflet invited us to join them for the eclipse on Wedneday AND Thursday – is there a parallel universe in Libya?
We arrived at the camp in the late afternoon. We were in the economy class tents but we had mattresses, pillows and warm blankets (feeding time was something else!) Of more concern was the amount of cloud around.
Eclipse day dawned to a clear, blue sky – not a cloud in sight. We had Mike Beales from the solar section of the BAA with us and, before setting out we had a look at the Sun with his solar ‘scope. There was a group of three sunspots and some prominences.
We set out into the desert at 10.00 local time and found our spot, well away from the camp. Some people chose to be on their own but about a dozen of us stayed together. First contact came at 11.10 and we then had over an hour to wait for totality. As the Sun shrank to a thin crescent, the first thing we noticed was a drop in temperature. We didn’t really see the Moon’s shadow approaching but we had beautiful shadow bands rippling across the sand. Finally, Bailey’s beads, a beautiful diamond ring and then totality at 12.30. The corona was suddenly there with beautiful streamers – a real WOW event. The colours on the western horizon were amazing and it wasn’t especially dark. We could see Venus very clearly but we didn’t spend time looking for Mercury. After what seemed no time at all (3 minutes 56 seconds actually) another beautiful diamond ring and it was all over. No-one said anything for some time and we stayed out in the desert for over half an hour before returning. We de-camped the next morning and began the journey north back to Benghazi.
Our final day was spent in the jewel of Roman ruins – Leptis Magna – a photographer’s dream. It is so vast that, despite the crowds, (including a few hundred Explorers) you could still find a quiet spot.
Libya is a very enigmatic country: strong Muslim traditions but little poverty and virtually everyone has a satellite dish! Unemployment is high but the people are very laid back. They welcome visitors but the country is currently bone-dry (and I’m not talking about water!!)
And a final thought: in Libya, a litre of petrol is cheaper than a litre of water!
Carol Bryan (written for the Hampshire Astronomical Group).