Conference turris::womannotes-v3

922.0. "Eclipse Report" by CALS::MALING (I got mooned in Hawaii) Thu Jul 18 1991 17:13

    Since I went to Hawaii to see the eclipse I thought I'd share my report
    with you all.  Well, on the way out to Hawaii I was singing Cat Stevens'
    "I'm being followed by a moonshadow" and on the way back it was Joni
    Mitchell's "Clouds".  What I saw was a total eclipse of the total
    eclipse and a partial eclipse of the partial eclipse.

    From the lanai (balcony) of my hotel room I could watch the sun rise
    every morning.  I was there 7 days and saw six beautiful cloud free
    sunrises, every one made more beautiful by the volcanic ash from
    Pinatubo.  But, on the day of the eclipse there was a low band of
    clouds on the horizon.  It was clear up where the sun would be at
    eclipse time (7:28am), but as the sun rose, so did that band of clouds,
    making it sort of a cliff hanger because it always appeared that at any
    moment the sun would rise above the clouds, which it finally did around
    8:00am.  Last contact was around 8:30am.

    I did watch it live on TV from the summit of Mauna Loa.  (Wish I'd had
    a VCR.) With the clouds, the partial phase was practically unnoticeable
    until it got very close to totality.  As totality approached I knew the
    clouds weren't going to break, so I turned to look in the other
    direction for the approaching shadow.  Didn't really see it though. 
    The speed at which the light turned to darkness was impressive and gave
    me an eerie feeling.  I could feel the coolness of the approaching
    shadow and the Mynah birds went back to the trees and chattered loudly
    as they did at evening.  It did not get as dark as I thought it would,
    not too much darker than a really nasty thunderstorm late in the day. 
    The clouds were light and not very thick, but during totality took on
    the appearance of a dark and threatening storm.

    I stayed at the same hotel as the "Sky and Telescope" group and watched
    them all setting up their equipment on the golf course.  It was a
    genuine nerd convention.  Talking to the other folks there I think I
    was the only woman who had dragged her husband along to see it. 
    Usually it was the other way around.  Of course I don't think the
    spouses minded going to Hawaii, they just didn't understand what all
    the fuss was about.  On Friday, the day after the eclipse, our hotel
    set some kind of record by checking out 455 rooms in one day.

    I talked to a guy who works for ABC Prime Time who was up on Mauna Kea
    above the clouds during totality.  He said the horizon was orange all
    the way around, a sort of 360 degree sunset.

    There is a theory that volcanic eruptions can be triggered by strong
    tidal forces like those during an eclipse and I heard a rumor that at
    the time of totality Mauna Loa had started venting steam.  (Mauna Loa
    last erupted in 1984.)  It was all over the island before the news came
    out that it was untrue.

    The eclipse was unobscured at the summits of Mauna Loa and Mauna Kea
    and was visible from various places on the island.  It just happened to
    be partly cloudy in the one place that was supposed to have the least
    chance (2%) of cloudiness.  Waitresses in Waimea (Kamuela), claimed it
    was visible from there and was a very spritually moving experience. 
    One native Hawaiian was having fun boasting to the tourists who missed
    it by telling how he saw three eclipses simultaneously -- one on TV,
    one in the sky, and one reflected in his pool.  A jokester placed a
    stenciled sign on top of the "Welcome to Kailua-Kona" sign that read
    "Eclipse canceled due to technical difficulties".

    Going to see the eclipse was pretty special to me.  I had seen 98% in
    1970 in Washington, DC.  I was a senior in high school at the time and
    my mother would not allow me to go with the Science Club to Norfolk
    which was in the path of totality.  She said, "You'll go all that way
    and it will probably be cloudy."  I said, "But other parents are
    letting their kids go."  She said, "That's different, they're boys."  I
    think my mom was afraid to send me off alone with only boys.  But this
    was the *Science Club*, get serious, Mom, these guys wouldn't know what
    to do with me.  Anyway there are those who claim that a total eclipse
    is better than sex.  I may never know.

    I feel sad about missing this one and I'm still angry at my mother
    about the other one, but I'm glad it took the risk this time.  Staying
    in Boston would have guaranteed that I not see it.  At least I had a
    chance.  It turns out that at the Ritz, about 5 miles up the beach
    from where I was they saw totality.  Guess I shoulda stayed at the
    Ritz.  But it wasn't a total loss. I got my eclipse T-shirt and Kilauea
    did not disappoint me, walking out over the fresh lava to the point
    where it is still flowing into the sea, watching the steam rise as the
    surf washed up against the red hot lava is worth traveling 6,000 miles
    to see.

    Mary

    Mary,
    
    There's a story you might enjoy reading, about people viewing an
    eclipse.  It's by Connie Willis, in her collection _Firewatch_.
    I think it's the first story in the book, but I can't remember
    the *name*.  Anyone?
    
    						Ann B.