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Total Eclipse 2006 By AAVSO staff member Gamze Menali On March 29, 2006, AAVSO staff member Sara Beck, AAVSO observer Gerry Samolyk, Haldun Menali (my husband and active AAVSO observer/member), and I were in Side (pronounced 'see day'), Turkey, to view the latest total solar eclipse. We chose Side as our destination not only because it is a beautiful resort town on the Mediterranean coast, but even more importantly, according to the GPS instrument of a friend of ours, our site was only a few hundred meters from the centerline of the eclipse path. The duration of totality there was at its maximum — about 3 minutes and 46 seconds. We wanted to share with you the story of our trip, so to follow our adventures from Boston to Paris to Istanbul to Antalya and finally to Side...read on! March 21, 2006...It was yet another wonderful but cold Boston morning, a little sun, a little haze, and a little wind, but still one could smell the magical smell of spring in the air. The morning wasn't special because it was just another gorgeous Boston morning; it was the morning we were heading to Istanbul, Turkey, for the total solar eclipse. This time, accompanying Haldun and me was a special guest—fellow AAVSO staff member, Sara Beck. Since this was her first trip to Turkey, we thought it best to hold a few "training" sessions beforehand to prevent culture shock. As it turned out, however, there was no need to worry. She enjoyed herself immensely and was ready to return, practically before we got home!
We met at Logan International Airport, checked in our luggage, and boarded the plane, which took us straight to Paris. Although the location of our seats wasn't great, our flight was uneventful and we landed in Paris, France, after a reasonable flight time (compared to the 11-hour direct flights to Istanbul I was used to!). Originally, I had thought it would be a good opportunity to brush up on my conversational French, but as it turned out I opted to use English more to prevent any last-minute humiliation. Haldun, on the other hand, was soon conversing with anyone and everyone who noticed the observational equipment he was carrying. His excitement about the eclipse was obviously contagious and he soon had everyone at Charles De Gaulle Airport asking him personal questions, assuming he was French! Oh well...So much for practicing my French! Sara and I decided to make Haldun our guide for the remaining time at the airport — a total of 5 hours! We finally boarded the second plane, which took us to Istanbul. We landed safely, and after a chaotic (!) welcome from the family members, we were on our way to my parents' apartment, in the heart of the city. We did a lot of sightseeing while in Istanbul and Sara got a perfect taste of the culture. She met the family and got along so fantastically well, that now she is considered one of them. Cheers to that! We stayed with my parents through March 25 and on the morning of the 26th we boarded a plane to Antalya, in southern Turkey, which was near our site for the eclipse. The city of Antalya stretches along the bay bearing its name, and is built at 39 meters altitude on a rocky coastline. One is immediately struck by the Taurus Mountains, rising to 3086 meters above this coastline, interspersed with valleys of varying sizes. Land and sea everywhere meet the beaches stretching for miles or the steep cliffs. The Taurus Mountains, against the blue backdrop of the sky, the precipices, and especially the caves close to the sea, add another dimension to the beauty of the region. It felt good to be back on the Turkish Riviera, especially since we were about to witness such a spectacular event as a total eclipse of the Sun. We met up with AAVSO observer Gerry Samolyk at our hotel in Antalya. It was just wonderful to have another AAVSO enthusiast with us. Gerry had rented a car and had driven all the way from Istanbul to Antalya. He was there to spend a couple of days with us, see the eclipse, and then go on with his journey back to Istanbul. It was fantastic to have Sara and Gerry with us, to be able to share with them the beauties of the city, the history, and most importantly the most magical moment, the moment of eternity—as Haldun would call it—the time of totality. It was going to be great!
The day before the eclipse Sara and Gerry did more explorations in the area. They visited Manavgat Falls and another nearby city, Alanya, which had a fantastic castle at the top of the mountain. Haldun and I decided to spend the day at our hotel attending a symposium being held there called, "Total eclipse of 2006 and Astronomy in Physics, Mathematics, and Computer Education" which was jointly organized by the Turkish National Observatory and the Department of Education. My former Astronomy professor, Dursun Koçer, had asked me to help with translating two talks from English to Turkish, so I gladly stayed. This gave Haldun and me the opportunity to enjoy the educational public outreach (EPO) meeting and spend a little time visiting with some of our Turkish friends and colleagues. There were many tourists gathering for the eclipse—so many that we were constantly running into people from the US, Europe, Asia, or even Australia! The eclipse did what diplomacy has a hard time doing at times...it brought people together from all different backgrounds, ages, and ethnicities under one umbrella—the passion for astronomy and astronomical events. I often think that "Doctors Without Borders" can and should be attributed to astronomers as well. Science, particularly astronomy, does that; it brings passionate people together, as with one heart and one soul, to witness a spectacular sky event right before our eyes. We knew that people were going to be at different locations for the eclipse but all close and around the city of Antalya. Some of the NASA scientists were going to be with us in Side, 75 kms east of Antalya.
The weather on the strip of coast between Antalya and Alanya, and passing through Side, had apparently been quite spring-like (meaning lots of rain!) for the previous few weeks, which made us a little nervous. However, we were relieved to be welcomed by clear blue skies and a warm 20C climate when we arrived in the area the previous Sunday. The days before March 29th had ups and downs, in terms of weather prospects. The forecast called for a front to move in from the west. The previous day, March 28th, our hope to see the eclipse under clear skies was almost gone due to some grey clouds lingering along the southern coast. Thankfully, on eclipse morning we all woke up to a pristine blue sky and an equally blue Mediterranean Sea. We could not have asked for a better day! It was just perfect. Before we left our hotel, Prof. Koçer gave us free eclipse T-shirts, caps, and pins. Naturally, we donned them before making our way to the other hotel where our eclipse site was. Hopefully, they would bring us some good luck and keep the clouds away!
The terrace of the Hotel Terrace (!) was very full of people; students, teachers, and eclipse chasers...people from all over the world. They were scattered throughout the terrace, setting up their equipment and taking care of final preparations for the big event. The exchange students from Poland were having a great time with their Turkish counterparts! The magnitude of the event must have overwhelmed them so much (as it should) that a sweet young Turkish girl burst into tears while talking to us, which was quite an interesting event! There was a broad range of "audience" at our eclipse site, including a retired theoretical mathematics professor from Caltech with a group of very sleek looking ladies from California, two brothers from Germany, a well-known Turkish astrophotographer (many of whose pictures have been published on the "Astronomy Picture of the Day" website), and many other people from near and far. There was even a hotel DJ whose job it was to entertain people (as if we needed entertainment!) before, during, and after the eclipse. Waiters were walking around pushing a cart full of cold beverages, making sure that everyone was well hydrated. Everything was perfect, and we soon were all set to enjoy this magnificent event! Here comes the moment... The Moon's first bite from the Sun was unexpectedly clear and on time compared to what we saw in 1999. The first contact occurred at 12:38:21 PM Turkish Daylight Saving Time (TDST). About 15 to 20 minutes before totality we spotted Venus toward the southwestern horizon, under the Sun and over the sea. Most people, including ourselves, could not really make out Mercury. Some say that this was because of the abundance of sea level water vapor. Light levels and shadows changed gradually, from being bright and clear-cut, to rather twilight-like and fuzzy as the time for second contact approached. A breeze picked up (the "eclipse wind") and it became much colder than the noontime comfortable 25C. We heard later that some measured the temperature drop to be at least 5C! People had to put their sweatshirts on. Contrary to the slowness of the partial phase of the eclipse, totality started with just a snap of a finger! The Sun got smaller, smaller, and smaller, until it became just a point source of light. Then...it just vanished. And the sky went dark, with a bright diamond ring like a flash, and ...with a dark hole in its midst. Oh, that must be the Moon that completely covered our star! It was 1:54:55 PM TDST, the time of the second contact. Folks around us started to scream, whistle, and sing with awe, enthusiasm, surprise, and joy. A lot of small pinkish and reddish prominences came into view, as the Sun disappeared behind the Moon. The streamers in the corona were easily seen and so pronounced that they looked like feathers drawn by an artist with a brush. They seemed to be oriented in an east-west orientation instead of all the way around as they had been in the last eclipse I saw, again from Turkey, on August 11, 1999. This must have been due to the fact that sun is now near solar minimum. Spikes that traced the solar poles were all visible and the streamers went to both directions toward east and west maybe for more than 10 to 15 solar diameters! As the Moon moved slowly over the Sun, other prominences popped into view. All of a sudden the following limb of the Moon started to get illuminated, and voila! There was the second diamond ring during the third contact at 1:58:44 TDST. The Sun started to blaze like a candle, then a far-away headlight again, to eventually return in all its majesty to the spotless blue sky. The fourth contact occurred at 3:13:32 TDST.
Eclipse photos were taken by Gerry Samolyk using a Cannon digital Rebel. The lense was a Celestron 500mm FL f/5.6. There it was...Yet another fantastic experience, which will be remembered forever. It was out-of-this-world good and we were so lucky to have been able to witness it. There was a cocktail party on the night of the eclipse. Before that, Sara and Gerry left to do some more sightseeing in Side. Having seen most of the ruins in Turkey, Haldun and I opted to meet our friends from Bursa, another city in Turkey, instead. They were in Side for the eclipse as well. The party that evening was fun. We enjoyed beverages snacks, and interesting conversation with all of our eclipse friends. Just when we were thinking about how full we were, dinner was announced! So we went on to eat more! Considering the fact we were going to check out early the next morning, we retired to our rooms before long. Sara and Gerry had planned to do more sightseeing in the Antalya area while Haldun and I were flying back to Istanbul to spend a few more days with friends and family. Click here for an audio clip of some of our final thoughts. Sara traveled back to Istanbul alone and had a great time. One of the many places she visited was Ephesus. Ephesus is the best-preserved classical city on the Mediterranean, and perhaps the best place in the world to get the feel for what life was like in Roman times. As a strategic coastal gateway to the Eastern World, this Ionian refuge grew to be the second largest city in the Roman Empire, the site of a Christian shrine, and one of the seven wonders of the ancient world.
At the end of each trip, I feel somewhat sad and somewhat tired, but mostly happy and serene for having seen and done what I did. The same feeling was coming over me once again while getting on a flight to Strasbourg, France, to spend few days visiting AFOEV's (Association Française des Observateurs d'Etoiles Variables) former president Emile Schweitzer and his lovely wife. A couple of days later we headed home to Boston. Until next time...May each of you see a total eclipse at least once in your life for it is a tremendous experience and not to be missed! Please note that some of the information on tourist sites was gathered from http://www.antalya-ws.com |
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