Solar Eclipse Images

Please analyze above photographs taken, during the partial solar eclipse on 26th Jan 2009 from 2.03 pm to 4.12 pm from Colombo, LK

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Sir Arthur C Clarke

Born : 16 December 1917(1917-12-16), Minehead, Somerset, United Kingdom

Died : 19 March 2008 (aged 90), Colombo, Sri Lanka

Pen name : Charles Willis, E.G. O'Brien

Occupation : Author, Inventor

Nationality : British and Sri Lankan

Genres : Hard Science Fiction, Popular Science

Subjects : Science

Notable works : Childhood's End
2001: A Space Odyssey
Rendezvous with Rama
The Fountains of Paradise

Spouse : Marilyn Mayfield (1953-1964)

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Percy B Molesworth

Crater Molesworth stands still on Mars till successors of legendary Percy B Molesworth from Earth would come to claim the rights.

Percy Braybrooke Molesworth (April 2, 1867 – December 25, 1908) was a Major in the corps of Royal Engineers and amateur astronomer. He obtained his commission in 1886 and was stationed at Fort Camnden until 1891. He then was ordered to Hong Kong and three years later moved to Trincomalee on Ceylon (now called Sri Lanka). He retired in 1906 intending to pursue astronomy full-time at his estate at Trincomalee. But he died of dysentery before he could realize his plans.


He was a talented observer creating first-class drawings of Mars and Jupiter in the years 1903 to 1905. He is credited with discovering a "great disturbance" in the southern bands of Jupiter on February 28, 1901. Known as the "South Tropical Disturbance" it lasted for close to forty years.

A crater on Mars was named after in his honor.

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Project: "You Are Galileo"

In 1609, Galileo Galili , an Italian scientist, performed the first observation of the "stars" using a telescope. The Moon was covered with craters, the Milky Way was made of numerous stars, satellites circulated Jupiter, Venus waxed and waned...
Even with a small telescope, only 4cm in diameter, Galileo found the sky filled with surprises that overturned the human understanding of the universe. In this "You are Galileo" project, you will use a telescope similar to Galileo' s and re-discover the surprises that Galileo found.

More information: http://www-irc.mtk.nao.ac.jp/~webadm/Galileo-E/

Credit:

International Year of Astronomy 2009 Japan Committee Project Team

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A Partial Solar Eclipse ( Saros )

Briefing




A partial solar eclipse would be encountered from 2.03 pm to 4.13 pm local time ( Colombo, SL) on 26 the of January 2009. A maximum of sun will be obscured at 3:12 PM and you will be able to observe 17.1% of the total visible area through the eclipse. Few observation camps have been arranged to capture the eclipse, according to the informed sources. Astronomical Associations of some schools have informed as about their events. Nalanda College, Kingswood College, and De Mazenod College will have their own events to witness the eclipse. There would also be another observation session in Kurunagala, conducted by the Planetarium.

Advice:

It is advised that you should use filters when observing the eclipse together with appropriate professional guidance. Otherwise it will cause irreversible damage to your naked eye.

Scientific Eye:

This type of eclipses are termed as "Saros". The periodicity and recurrence of solar (and lunar) eclipses is governed by the Saros cycle, a period of approximately 6,585.3 days (18 years 11 days 8 hours). When two eclipses are separated by a period of one Saros, they share a very similar geometry. The two eclipses occur at the same node with the Moon at nearly the same distance from Earth and at the same time of year. Thus, the Saros is useful for organizing eclipses into families or series. Each series typically lasts 12 to 13 centuries and contains 70 or more eclipses. Every saros series begins with a number of partial eclipses near one of Earth's polar regions. The series will then produce several dozen central before ending with a group of partial eclipses near the opposite pole.




IYA 2009 Event:

Furthermore, especially a public eclipse observation session has been set up by the Astronomical Association of Sri Lanka ( AALK ). This would be held in the Car Park of the Arpico Super Center
in Hyde Park Corner, Colombo, which is accessible from Union Place. This is aimed at making the public aware of IYA 2009, while popularizing astronomy among people, in accordance with the IYA 2009 projects.

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Links:

Following links lead you to more scientific explanations on the eclipse.

http://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/OH/OHtables/OH2009-Tab02.pdf
http://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/OH/OH2009.html#2009Jan26A
http://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/SEsaros/SEsaros131.html
http://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/OH/OHtables/OH2009-Tab02.pdf

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Meeting II of IYA 2009 LK

The second meeting of the IYA 2009 SL concluded successfully at the SLAAS headquarters on last Thursday, 22 nd of January 2009. The meeting was presided by the president of AALK Prof. Kavan Rathnathunga and was attended as many individuals and Astro-related groups as possible.
The year plan IYA 2009 SL was explained by the General Secretary of AALK Mr. Thilina Heenatigala. Following were the highlighted matters at the meeting.

• • "Partial Solar Eclipse"

  2009 January 26 - 2:03 PM to 4:12 PM in Colombo

Eclipse Max. Eclipse Sun Sun Eclip. Eclip. AnnularLocation Begins Eclipse Ends Alt Azm Mag. Obs. DurationUT h m h m h m °Colombo 08:33 09:42 10:42 41 238 0.285 0.171Local 14:03 15:12 16:12 Time+5:30

• MORE INFO
  http://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/OH/OHtables/OH2009-Tab02.pdf
  http://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/OH/OH2009.html#2009Jan26A
  http://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/SEsaros/SEsaros131.html
  http://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/OH/OHtables/OH2009-Tab02.pdf
  
  Observation events:
  *Kurunegala - Colombo Planetarium
  
  *Hide Park Corner Car Park - Astronomy & Space Study Center/ Sri Lanka Astronomical Association
  
• Local Circumstances for the Partial Solar Eclipse
• of 2009 January 26 in Sri Lanka

• Astonet Project

• Sci-Fi Competition

• Advanced Observation Course

• 100 Hours of Observation

Present Schools

1. Ananda College
2. Nalanada College
3. Royal College
4. Isipathana College
5. Devi Baliaka Vidyalaya
6. Sirimavo Bandaranayake Vidyalaya
7. De Mazenod College
8. Kingswood College
9. Wesley College

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