Champagne corks popped in Astronomy Ireland's offices yesterday afternoon after perfectly clear skies greeted the deepest partial solar eclipse over Dublin since 1927.
How could the meteorologists have got it so wrong? The 2 1/2 hour eclipse was seen in beautifully clear skies over Dublin at Astronomy Ireland's Eclipse Watch in Phoenix Park, one of 11 staged by the society in the State. This was perfect weather for the eclipse but only a few thousand people attended the event due to the cloud warnings that were still going out on the radio while we were standing in sweltering conditions!
Astronomy Ireland had been advising people to ignore the weather forecast and anyone who took our advice in Dublin saw a once-in-a-lifetime spectacle which was the most amazing astronomical experience I have ever had.
With bad weather forecast we had been depressed at the thought that the Irish astronomy magazine, Astronomy & Space, would be full of pictures from abroad, but we will have a host of Irish eclipse pictures and reports. This will be a first as every eclipse here since 1984 has been clouded out. Astronomy Ireland's Eclipse Newsline on 155011-11-30 received a record number of calls.
Even before first contact, hundreds of people were queuing in the Phoenix Park for the Eclipse Watch and our eclipse shades quickly sold out. Looking up just after 10 a.m. I could see that the eclipse had begun.
Still not aware of what the weather had in store, we were already happy after a few minutes had passed. If the clouds and rain forecast did show up, at least we could say we saw something. Little did we know of the spectacle that awaited us.
The predicted clouds never materialised and the moon continued to bite an ever-growing chunk out of the sun in clear skies. Thousands of people were now using the pinhole technique to project an image of the sun and could clearly see that the eclipse was in progress.
Others had bought eclipse shades from the Astronomy Ireland Shop and had an even better view, in complete safety. Astronomy Ireland members had set up special solar projectors that were imported for the eclipse and the solar sunspot maximum, expected to peak next year. They gave some of the best views with sunspots visible on the disk of the sun. There were even larger telescopes with special sun filters that showed detail in the sunspots themselves.
Close to 11 a.m., with mid-eclipse approaching, I started to notice the landscape was getting dark. Not very dark, but noticeable nonetheless. I had not expected this.
The sun was now a thin crescent with the ends of the crescent (the "cusps") standing vertical with respect to the horizon, i.e. at the six and 12 o'clock positions on a clock face.
As the minutes ticked by, the moon slid to the lower left and the cusps spun round first to the seven and one o'clock positions, then eight and two o'clock. It was just after 11.10 a.m. and maximum eclipse was now upon us.
Someone noticed that the birds had disappeared, presumably going off to roost for "the night". We had heard that this happens at a total eclipse but it seems to happen at deep eclipses too. The landscape was darker, not enough for streetlights to come on but very noticeable.
The biggest effect, though, was the heat. We had been very hot in full sunlight at the start of the eclipse. By mid-eclipse it was definitely chilly. This was a great surprise as the path of totality swept over 50 miles south of Ireland and we were in Dublin.
Ninety-two per cent of the sun was covered by the moon high in the sky. The view of this thin crescent was awe-inspiring.
Among the things to look out for was the planet Venus. We searched for it below the sun but some high very thin clouds hampered the view. Astronomy Ireland wants to hear reports from anyone who saw the planet.
As mid-eclipse passed, the cusps soon swung to the nine and three o'clock positions i.e. horizontal, a truly amazing sight with only the top edge of the sun, a thin arc, in the sky.
After just a few minutes the cusps had moved to the 10 and four o'clock positions and then much more slowly they crept towards the 11 and five o'clock positions. The eerie quality of the light continued until around 11.30 a.m. by which time about three-quarters of the sun was covered.
For many, eclipse mania had ended but there were still sunspots behind the moon waiting to pop out as viewed with the solar projectors.
Almost on the dot of 12.30 p.m. the last part of the moon moved off the sun and the eclipse was over. What a way to end the millennium.
David Moore is editor of Astronomy and Space magazine.