Put another eclipse in the books for me. The first eclipse I got to experience with my wife and that one was a total eclipse. This one was a partial eclipse at 90% with my Dad. He is 97 and it is the last he will ever see. The next eclipse in the United States won’t happen until 2044. That one will happen over the Northwestern States. I might try to see that one but I don’t know. I have 20 years to decide.
Out of both eclipses, this one is just a little more special. It wasn’t a total and I didn’t make it home for the peak, but we did get to set up the telescope and see the sun partially blocked by the moon. This is something we have never shared together and I’m glad we didn’t miss that.
My interest in astronomy and photography comes from my Dad. He would get Sky and Telescope the magazine and I would occasionally read it as a kid. Most of it was above my head but it still was interesting. Especially the photos. We would also go out on a clear night and look up at the stars and he would point out the constellations. That was back in the dark age when you didn’t have as much light pollution as you do now. Space was one of the few things we had as a mutual interest. Well that and Monty Python’s Flying Circus but that is a story for another time.
This is the image of the sun and moon projected on to a plate from the telescope.
I’m not sure when my Dad got this telescope but it looks cool. I know he’s had it at least 60 years. That is, of coarse, my Dad zeroing on to the eclipse.