Den folgenden Beitrag aus dem Starry Night Diskussionsforum möchte ich unseren Mitgliedern und Interessenten nicht vorenthalten. Es ist die äßerst lebensnahe Schilderung einer Beobachtunt der totalen Mondfinsternis vom 16. Juli auf den Philippinen:
Greetings to everybody.
THIS ONE IS SPECIALLY DEDICATED TO THE PEOPLE OF SIENNASOFT.
The Philippines is often visited by tropical depression to an average of 30 a year starting in the month of June. No thanks to El Niño phenomenon it started a little earlier this year. As early as May we already had two tropical hurricane bringing heavy rains all over the island of Luzon and flooding the streets of Metro Manila. Not a very good time for astronomical observations. No CLEAR SKIES, indeed.
In the middle of June, I received an invitation from the City Tourism Officer of Iriga City to give a lecture on basic astronomy to selected group of students from several schools of the city. I accepted the invitation and set the meeting to July 16, 2000, Sunday, in time for the total lunar eclipse that is visible to the Philippines.
On July 9, a tropical depression was bringing heavy rains all over the island. It lasted until Tuesday. The sun appeared Wednesday morning. But in the morning of Thursday a news bulletin was over the radio and TV station that two low pressure areas were spotted within the Philippine Area of Responsibility. One is over the China Sea and the other One is over the Pacific Ocean. Iriga City is in the middle. I waited…
Sunday morning…a thick band of cloud was hovering Metro Manila bringing showers once in a while. With my 5-year old, reliable PC I went to the airport and boarded a plane that will bring me to Iriga City. I landed 40 minutes after.
Iriga City is one of the two cities of Bicol Province. It is 650 kilometers south of Manila. The City is so clean and free from light, dust, and smog pollution. A very good place for astronomical observation but not a very good time because it was cloudy.
I conducted the lecture to about 500 high school students in the afternoon on basic astronomy. The response was warm that they decided to form an astronomical society! The first of its kind in the country.
At about 5:30 together with a convoy of public buses, school buses, and private cars we headed to the town of Buhi, some 30 minutes drive away from Iriga City for the observation of the lunar eclipse. We set up camp at Magindara Resort near Lake Buhi. I set up my computer, run the program Starry Night Pro, set the location to 13 degrees north and 123 degrees E, lock the position to moon, set the FOV to 1 degree and there is the full moon. Just like the real one. It was almost 6:30 p.m., AND THE CLOUDS DISAPPEARED AND THE FULL MOON APPEARED!!!
The students were alternately looking the real moon and the virtual moon in the computer. Thanks to the SNP it was so real that the students were thinking that a camera was connected to the computer.
At 6:50 the moon entered the penumbra at the computer. But there was no penumbra at the real one. Only a slight change of color from silvery white to yellowish white.
We waited…
At around 8 pm another shadow was entering the moon's surface in the computer. And so with the real one. It was the Umbra. Everybody was ecstatic. So am I. Not so much of the eclipse but because of the children's and teacher's reaction. First time they saw such an event and first time they experienced this kind of learning experience. I successfully planted the seed of interest in astronomy into them.
It was 9:05 when the moon entered the totality. Everybody was happy. Some were singing, others were taking their snacks, others were dancing, others were…professing love to their fiancée (ha, ha, ha, no joke). The real one is synchronized with the virtual one. "How did you do that?" they asked. "In planetary science everything is almost predictable. Remember Keppler's?" I said. BUT IN MY MIND, I SAID "IT'S BECAUSE OF SNPRO."
The moon is almost invisible at about 10:00 pm. I showed them the stars in the constellation Sagittarius, Capricorn, the Polaris and other stars. I pointed them the Milky Way. Never in their life they realized that that band of cloud is the Milky Way. All they know is that the cloud is an ordinary cloud!
It was already 11:45…umbra was leaving the surface of the moon…we have to cap the night…but the students don't want to leave yet. But they have to.
I shut down my old, reliable computer and headed home. Unfortunately, I only have an instamatic camera. I do not know if the event will be recorded in the film. But one thing is sure…the event will be remain in my memories forever…
EPILOGUE…
I met the teachers the following day. We elected the sets of officers and tentatively named the organization Rinconada Astronomical Society. The following day, Tuesday, I had an audience with the mayor. Together with the city architect, we headed to a clearing and discussed project. To put up an observatory that will house a 16" S-C telescope that will be under the supervision of the society. I'm coming going back to Iriga after one month.
Two-thumbs up for the people of SiennaSoft!!!!!!!!!!
Bernie A. Esporlas
Eigentlich haben wir doch überall die gleichen Probleme mit dem Wetter. Und dennoch die gleiche Begeisterung für die Astronomie. So wurden wir Zeugen der Grüdung des ersten amateurastronomischen Vereins auf den Philippinen. Viel Glück!
APi