At around a quarter to five, tomorrow morning you can witness the spectacle of an annular eclipse. But you'll have to be well north to see it. An annular eclipse is where the moon is too far from the sun to cover it completely, so you get a ring of fire round the shadow of the moon. Spectacular, even if it will only last around 2 minutes.

So where do you get to see this phenomenon? You've gotta head for the north coast, Orkney or Shetland. Now I know there are millions of Scots who have not been to these places. Maybe they're waiting for an event like this. Should you head up there tonight? NO.

Wait till the druids, the pagans and the eclipse chasers have departed. The north coast is a rugged and beautiful place. Durness is a sleepy little village where the peace and tranquility are astounding (as long as the RAF are not bombing the neighbouring coastline). The northern isles are absolute jewels. Don't make your trip up there just to stare at the sun. Go explore the area, spend time there, get to know it. You will emerge a better person for it.

Oh and if you do happen to bump in to an eclipse chaser, ask them if they're gonna wait til 2093 (the date of the next eclipse) to come back. My guess is that they'll wish they could never leave.

Posted by bigcrags @ 8:53 AM 0 comments

Previous Posts

Links

Archives