Panama Eclipse - A Glimpse of Totality

The annular solar eclipse of 08. April 2005 in Penonome, Panama

Experience Report

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Preliminary information:

The observation of the solar ring was successful. A lot of beads and strings could be viewed through a light cirrus cloud cover, without using any filter. It became remarkably darker - a glimpse of totality!

Observation site: Penonome Airfield, Panama (sorry, this is the only English text, enjoy the pictures!)

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Experience Report Part 1 (10.04.2005):

At the end of the year 2004 I decided to join a travel to observe the hybrid solar eclipse on 08. April 2005, that could be seen as annular in Panama. However the cloud statistics in the internet argued for a solar eclipse behind clouds � the preferred areas in Panama not even provided a 40% probability of visibility. But tropical temperatures, a rich fauna and the Panama Canal were arguments for taking the opportunity of this travel. I booked via www.eclipse-reisen.de.

On 02.04. I flew via Caracas to Panama City. The long flight travel was awarded by a fantastic sunset over the Panama Canal, the waiting ships and the skyline of Panama City, that could be seen on approach of Panama Tocumen International Airport.

Sunset over Panama City Taken during approach of Panama Tocumen International Airport. Below the sun the shadows of the skyline of Panama City are visible over the sea.

I stayed at the Royal Decameron Resort. The resort is located about two driving hours away from the Panama Tocumen airport, directly at the south coast at the Pacific Ocean.

	Royal Decameron Resort located at the beach and ocean, with swimming pools and tropical gardens.
Royal Decameron Resort at night
Orion at the beach of the Royal Decameron Resort	Ursa Maior in Panama at the beach of the Royal Decameron Resort
Sunrise at the Royal Decameron Resort Directly in front of my rood door this magnificent sunrise could be seen on 04. April.

After a couple of beach days at the resort, a boats tour through the jungle waters of Lake Gatun and the Panama Canal, and a visit of the old town of Panama City and the Watergates of the Panama Canals at Miraflores on 08. April the highlight of the journey had come.

Monkey	Sloth
Animals at Lake Gatun Taken during the jungle boat tour on 06. April at the watersides of Lake Gatun and the Panama Canal
Turtle

Unfortunately weather prospects seemed to confirm the statistics. After two sunny days, one cloud covered day and two rainy days nothing good loomed for 08. April. Around 4:30 a.m. I meant to have recognized a low cloud cover, that weekly reflected electrical lights from the ground � no stars! I thought a small wonder must have to happen, to see this eclipse of 08. April 2005.

Moon on 07. April 2005 The moon is visible shortly for a few minutes between two banks of clouds.	Sun on 07. April 2005 The sun only shows up on early morning.
Sun and Moon on 07. April 2005 Despite weather conditions getting worse one day before the solar eclipse still separated sun and moon are visible. Both pictures were taken with a Canon EOS500N and Canon Telezoom 75-300mm and Canon 2xTele-Converter at 600mm.

I could hardly believe my next view outside around 6:30 a.m.: Just a few stripes of clouds still at the sky! Would it keep up, or like on the other two days before, be cloudy and raining at eclipse time on the afternoon?

A part of the party around Mike Simmons (including me) joined a morning event of panamanian amateur astronomers (www.astropanama.org) at Hotel La Pradera in Penomene, directly located on the center line. When we arrived there in the morning we had a closed cloud cover above us. But during the following hours, where inside had been reported from the Antarctica solar eclipse on 23.11.2003, outside the sun came out again.

The tropical weather is so changeable and variable � at noon there were a lot of cumulus clouds over Penonome and the northerly located mountains. Around the pacific coast it was nearly cloudless clear.

Although there were alternatives, the group decided to locate the prepared viewing site, the airfield of Penonome, for observation of the solar eclipse. Located directly on the centerline, there was a beautiful horizon view to the west with mountains up to 2° high in the far.

Around 3:00 p.m. the sun still stood around 40 to 50° high in the west, on the left hand below some cumulus clouds and cirrus mist, that stuck up far higher above the sun.

Passing first contact at 3:56 p.m. EST (22:56 MESZ) I still was busy with assembly of my observation equipment, consisting of a 60/910 Revue-Refractor, 70/700 Skywatcher Refractor and Sony DCR-VX700E MiniDV-video camera parallel mounted on an ash wood tripod. The rough north wind tampered me strongly at mounting the filter foils.

But 8 minutes after the first contact I joined eclipse photography with my first 1820mm-picture, taken with a Canon EOS500N and Canon 2xTele-Converter behind a 60/910 Revue-Refractor, provided with Baader ND3,8 filter foil. A light brown tone seemed to dominate the scenery of the eclipsed sun.

Projection of the Solar Crescent The Skywatcher-Refractor serves to project the sun�s crescent on a paperboard.

Partial Phase at 4:35 EST p.m. (23:35 MESZ) Taken with a Canon EOS500N and 2xTele-Konverter behind a Revue-Refractor (D=60mm, f=910mm) with Baader foil (D=3.8), 1/30 second exposed on Fuji100 negative film.

The partially eclipsed sun was captured now by cirrus mist, but could prevail a while without any problems against it. Automatically measured exposure times became longer and longer � not only caused by the moon, that now covered the sun more and more, but also by the thicker cirrus mists. When displayed exposure times met the single digit scale I continued without filter. This action has to be handled with special care. Only with respective experience one should take such decision. The sunlight must be really week enough, to not damage the eyes of the observer. Fluctuations in the transparency of the clouds can become very dangerous in such a situation.

My approach to not carry forward the vibrations of the exposing camera to the front lens, resp. the telescope, by posting the camera on a separate tripod and only have a loose paperboard tube between the camera body and the telescope�s tube, showed now its strengths. The focusing is accomplished by changing the height of the camera (adjustably at the tripod using a small crank handle) and the positioning of the tripod behind the telescope tube. In the equator near areas (Panama is at ca. 8� northern latitude), mainly a vertical day movement of the sun (related to the horizon) is the consequence, causing the refocusing or picture clipping mostly can be executed using the crank handle at the tripod. The deeper the sun is standing the smaller is the few forward / backward movement of the tripod necessary.

Cloud situation during the first partial phase at 4:56 p.m. EST (23:56 MESZ) The solar eclipse is taking place behind light cirrus clouds. Southwest (on the picture to the left) of the sun thicker cirrus and cumulus clouds are located. The solar eclipse is nearly exact on the western direction.

Observation Site Penonome Taken at 4:56 p.m. EST during the first partial phase on the airfield of Penonome.

The crescent became smaller � progressing to annularity. The remaining sun, lessened by the moon and the cirrus clouds could be observed without filter. I watched the almost picture filling solar crescent at 1820mm through the view-finder of my camera. Smoothly the sun decreased nearly vertically, almost without any loss of sharpness when cranking down the camera, the adjustments of the tripod position were minimal.

Helpful were the time announcements of some people around and a radio controlled clock, that I have buckled upon my Skywatcher Refractor. The crescent became so small, in wonderful yellowish-white light � the clouds contributed to the beauty of the eclipse � I did not follow its progress or change tendencies, but concentrated fully on the solar eclipse.

Solar crescent in cirrus clouds Taken at 4:59 p.m. EST (23:59 MESZ) with a Canon EOS500N behind a Revue-Refractor (D=60mm, f=910mm), without filter ca. 1/2000 second exposed on Fuji100 negative film.

I viewed in the direction of the sun in front of me. The landscape is yellow orange and significantly darker, the light crescent behind a fine curtain of cirrus clouds, that stick up so high upon southwestern located thunderstorm clouds, as they�d lay a carpet for the central line arranging its course at the sky. A glimpse of totality has lain down over the land.

Experience Report Part 2 (11.04.2005):

And again a view through the view-finder of my camera at 1820mm: Suddenly the crescent grows at its, light beads and � stings arise, grow and unite with a smallness, that no other crescent can own. And its becoming a ring � the crescent peaks meet each other. Holey, but still a band, a round band � a small ring, that the running moon is still leaving of the sun. The moon is running in front of the sun with a velocity, that gives the whole spectacle an astronomically fully unknown motion dynamic. The Eclipse � it is moving.

The ring is so faint and now perfect. Centrally the moon moves in front of the sun � for some short moments a symmetry is given, that only is possible on the central line. More exactly it hardly could fit � just a tiny tittle that the right ring edge could be broader.

Panama Eclipse � second contact Aufgenommen um 17:11:55 EST mit einer Canon EOS500N und 2xTele-Konverter hinter einem Revue-Refraktor (D=60mm, f=910mm), ohne Filter 1/1000 Sekunde belichtet auf Fuji200 Negativfilm.

Panama Eclipse � The sun ring Taken at 5:12:04 p.m. EST with a Canon EOS500N and 2xTele-Converter behind a Revue-Refractor (D=60mm, f=910mm), without filter 1/1000 second exposed on Fuji200 negative film.

Panama Eclipse � third contact Taken at 5:12:04 p.m. EST with a Canon EOS500N and 2xTele-Converter behind a Revue-Refractor (D=60mm, f=910mm), without filter 1/1000 second exposed on Fuji200 negative film.

And I am pressing the release, again and again, between the pictures the view to the cosmic event through the view-finder of my Canon EOS500N camera. And already now the ring becomes smaller, opens up in beads and strings and becomes a crescent, that now is showing opened to the top how far the event is progressing. My release activity has developed to a �permanent firing�. At the adjustment I have taken at my camera, each of three pictures get exposed with 1/250s, 1/1000s, 1/60 s after each other.

Solar eclipse with a bow of chromosphere Taken at 5:12:06 EST with a Canon EOS500N and 2xTele-Converter behind a Revue-Refractor (D=60mm, f=910mm), without filter 1/250 second exposed on Fuji200 negative film.

Keeping the solar eclipse within my view-finder also during this fast progress creates unexpectedly less effort to me, although it would loose sun and moon in a few seconds time without adjustments. It is a focal length of 1820mm, that provides me a picture filling view to the solar eclipse. But then the crescent is so thick again, that it looses in its fascination and I let it leave the view.

I am looking now directly with the naked eye into it. It�s very bright, but not dissuasively glittering, as the sun usually is. A little squeeze of the eyes and there the crescent is with its still widely sticking horns behind the light cloud curtain: A fantastic coulisse over the land and the small airfield of Penonome.

Now I am walking around and looking about the other observers, taking some pictures of the eclipse mood on site: big and small telescopes, people with different filters and eclipse glasses.

When I came back to my telescopes, I was appealed to by some people, who liked to take a look through it. I realize: I can not provide them anything � the crescent has disappeared within clouds become thicker, and is no more recognizable within the view-finder.

A panamanian camera team of native amateur astronomers (www.astropanama.org) asked me for an interview, that I liked to give (after I was already surveyed for an Eclipse-DVD-Video). Then their cassette went full and I focus on the disappeared eclipse, can not localise it any further. Now obviously a new cassette is there and I answer the questions regarding my eclipse experience. I describe how wonderful it was, the ring, the crescents in the beautiful yellow color, and that it was my first successfully observed annular eclipse.

Experience Report Part 3 (14.04.2005):

Later right through the clouds the position of the sun was recognizable and below that areas where it could be expected, to see the solar eclipse again. When it came to these areas, it was hardly visible at 910mm within the view-finder of the camera. Not until the upper right side of the sun walked into it became more clear. The corner, that the moon created with the right sun limb stood out. Several minutes the eclipse was visible, yellow in yellow before it disappeared again behind a bank of clouds.

Solar crescent Taken at 5:14 p.m. EST with a Canon EOS500N and 2xTele-Converter behind a Revue-Refractor (D=60mm, f=910mm), without filter 1/2000 second exposed on Fuji100 negative film.

Solar eclipse and clouds Taken at 6:09 p.m. EST (01:09 MESZ already on 09.04.) with a Canon EOS500N and 2xTele-Converter behind a Revue-Refractor (D=60mm, f=910mm), without filter 1/2000 second exposed on Fuji100 negative film.

Although there were bright spots again below the cloudbank, the solar eclipse did not come out again, and also after fourth contact the sun could not be see again. Too many clouds had gathered at the horizon.

I let an interested policeman take a view through my telescope view-finder, but absolutely nothing of the solar eclipse could be seen any more. I removed my telescopes and packed my things together. The others of the party started that earlier, so that I stepped into the bus as the last one.

At departure of the bus it was already dusky. The southwest was strongly covered with thunderstorms. During the drive back to the hotel it became dark. Over the ocean thunderstorm clouds flashed, but Jupiter and some stars could be recognized above these clouds.

At the hotel a collective dinner of the eclipse party around Mike Simmons and some other traveling participants took place, followed by mutual viewing of videos at a hotel room. Due to the NTSC standard of the local TV set we had to be satisfied with a smaller display of a camera.

This evening was already characterized by mutual leave-takings and exchange of e-mail addresses, because at the next morning around 5 a.m. I stood up to take the hotel bus to the airport at around 6:30 a.m.. The flight back again went via Caracas to Frankfurt, where I was welcomed most kindly at the morning of 10. April.

Equipped with eclipse t-shirt and Panama hat I felt a little bit like from a foreign world. But it will not last long until a summerly climate also will move into home and the Panama hat gets application at the domestic balcony. And also the next solar eclipse ist visible from here. On 03. October 2005 it will be eclipse-time again.

Stephan Heinsius, during the flight back from Panama to Frankfurt on 09./10.04.2005, Logging onto the PC on 10.04.2005, Corrections and amendments on 10.04., 11.04., 14.04. and 17.04.2005. Adding pictures on 13.04. and 17.04.2005. Adding closing remarks on 16.05.2005 and the exact picture timings of the four pictures of the central phase on 29.05.2005. Translation into English on 06., 07. and 08.08.2007.

Closing remarks (16.05.2005):

An interesting comparison of the total and annular phase of the solar eclipse shows the "Astronomy Picture of the Day" of 06. May 2005.

Latest Update of this Site: 08. August 2007.

 

Design and content: Stephan Heinsius, D-63303 Dreieich, ©SH 2005 - all rights reserved