Eclipse - 4^th December 2002

We left from Sandton at about 8:30 on Monday morning the second of December. There were three busses with a group of about 160 people from a number of countries - American, Poland, England etc. Our destination was a farm situated some half-an-hour to the West of Messina on the bank of the Limpopo river.

After an uneventful journey, we arrived at about 4 o’ clock in the afternoon. We were shown to our allotted tents, and provided with refreshments. The campsite had been especially created for our visit, and the farmer has constructed showers and toilets, a refreshment unit (bar, storage etc.), and a kitchen unit, all of cemented stonework. A truly amazing effort considering the short time we would be there, and the unlikelihood of it’s being used again.

The plan was for Trevor and I to set up our telescopes for the party to look at the skies after supper. The sky was nice and dark, even though the camp lights (electric generator!) were close by. Saturn was visible, and proved to be the most popular object to view. M42, the Orion nebular, was stunningly clear, and I actually was able to see the Crab Nebular, M1. Into bed about 12:30.

Next morning, Tuesday, the camp was astir about 4:30 so as to go on one of the various excursions offered. Tea, coffee, and light snacks were provided, and I joined Trevor on a tour of the area around the camp, with the emphasis on geology. We returned to the campsite for "brunch" at about 10:00. Most of the party settled down under a large Baobab tree, myself included, and got to know each other. The morning walks were to be repeated in the afternoon, and I joined the "bird tour". Although there were some birds in our Baobab, we went to the river to see Spoonbills, Whistling ducks, Goliath herons, Plovers (blacksmith), and three crocodiles. There was very little water visible, as the river had stopped flowing during October. After a very handsome evening meal, Professor David Block gave us a talk on the many wonders of the sky, and on the program for the next morning. Trevor told me that his thermometer and shown a temperature inside his tent of 43 degrees!!!

During the night the wind started blowing, and the morning dawned with a widespread layer of scattered cloud, which put everyone into a down cast frame of mind, nevertheless we gathered up our various items of equipment, chairs etc. and set out for the viewing area, some 500 meters distant. The time was more or less 6:45 a.m. Tea, coffee, muffins, fresh hot pancakes etc. were provided by our caterers at the site. As the time for "first contact" approached the clouds thinned, but we could see a heavy bank towards the East. Our site was not in the centre of the Totality path, so our time in the shadow was only 72 seconds, and did those seconds fly!

This Eclipse was nowhere near as dark as the 2001 eclipse, and my impression was that this was quite close to being "annular", I was aware of a bright ring around the moon during the total phase. The landscape was very bright. I did not manage to see the shadow approaching, nor did I see the light and dark bands, although some of the others claimed to have done so.

After the sun was once more clear, we all went back to the camp for breakfast, and to pack our luggage during which time the sky became progressively more overcast.

The whole exercise was a major success and thoroughly enjoyed by all.

Melvyn Hannibal