The Northland didn't see much of the recent solar eclipse, but Bob King made a point of scurrying across the globe to catch the event from the island of Majorca. Thankfully, the next eclipse will be more locally noteworthy.
For Bob, who was on an island in the Mediterranean, the eclipse was almost a total loss. Although the day started out clear, at sunset - just at the moment of the eclipse - some clouds rolled in. "From our particular part of the island, the sun - at totality - slid right into that cloud bank, and it was completely invisible," says King.
However, something more unique was born from this potential disaster. The shadow of the moon was still visit for Bob and company who were looking out into the expanse of an open sea. "We could see the shadow, like a gigantic tornado moving from our right... to our left. It was this huge dark presence - it was like Sauron from Mt Mordor."
Whether or not it was be dramatic enough to receive a comparison to an evil literary character, a lunar eclipse is still ahead of us here in the Northland. On Thursday, August 27th, the Earth will cast a shadow on the moon, giving it a deep red color. The eclipse begins just after 9:30pm and will last until almost 1am. At 11:12pm, the moon will be roughly 96% blocked from the light of the sun.
You can hear Astro Bob's Backyard Astronomy every other Tuesday at 8:20am on Northland Morning.
