July 14, 1999. Copyright, 1999, Graphic News. All rights reserved

WHEN DAY TURNS TO NIGHT
By Margot Nesdale

LONDON, July 14, Graphic News: THE SPECTACULAR astronomical phenomenon that is a solar eclipse blacks out the skies for the last time in this millennium on August 11.
Rising in the western Atlantic, the eclipse first touches land in south west England in mid morning. The path of totality then draws a narrow band across France and Germany, lasts longest Ð two minutes, 23 seconds Ð in Romania before passing over Turkey, Iran and India, to sunset over the Bay of Bengal.
Experts say the earth will turn metallic grey, the temperature will drop and bizarre bands of light and dark will move rapidly across the ground.
Flowers will close up, nocturnal animals may emerge and birds may go to roost.
But they warn enthusiasts caught up in the hysteria that watching the partial phases of the eclipse without proper eye protection could cause blindness.
The last time a solar eclipse darkened British skies was in 1927, when observers from North Wales to Yorkshire described it as being Òlike the end of the worldÓ.
So what can eclipse-watchers expect to see this time?
During phase one, known as Òfirst contactÓ, the moon will begin to obscure the sunÕs photosphere, looking like a ÒbiteÓ mark taken out of the solar disk.
During Òsecond contactÓ, hundreds of images of the crescent sun may be visible on the ground beneath trees, as the moon blocks out more of the sun.
This strange phenomenon is caused by gaps in the foliage acting as pinhole cameras.
Just before totality, the bright photospheric ring around the sun will break up into blobs of light known as BailyÕs Beads, caused by final flashes of sunlight shining through gaps in lunar mountain ranges.
Within a few seconds all of the beads bar one will disappear, and observers will get a fleeting glimpe of the Òdiamond ring effectÓ.
During totality, the entire horizon may appear orange or maroon like sunset and bright stars and planets will be seen.
Observers will see the solar chromosphere, the red rim around the eclipsing moon, and the corona, the outer atmosphere of the sun, which will appear as a white glow.
The Royal Greenwich Observatory recommends special eclipse viewers made from aluminised mylar to view the eclipse and even then never to look at the sun directly other than during totality. Otherwise the ultraviolet and infrared radiation will damage your eyesight, even if you do not feel any discomfort.
They warn against watching partial eclipses with sunglasses or gelatin filters, or using fully exposed and developed colour film and black and white negatives and smoked glass.
WelderÕs goggles, pinhole projection or projection using binoculars or a small telescope are also recommended.
The special viewers can be purchased from the Royal Greenwich Observatory or from Eclipse99 Limited, Belle Etoile, Rue du Hamel, Castel, Guernsey GY5 7QJ.
Other makes are also now widely available at supermarkets.
All this, however, is dependent on that most capricious of factors Ð the weather. The notoriously unreliable British climate means that Cornwall, the first landfall from which the eclipse will be seen, has only a 45 percent chance of clear skies.
Metereological experts at space agency NASA recommend that those who are determined not to miss the spectacle head for France, Germany, Romania or even Iran, which has more than a 90 percent chance of clear skies.
/ENDS.

Sources: Royal Greenwich Observatory, NASA