| 24th of April 2023 |
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| The 2023 solar eclipse from Parkes |
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The path of totality for last Thursday's solar eclipse passed over
Exmouth in Western Australia, and continued through Timor Leste
and West Papua. In other parts of Australia a partial eclipse
was experienced, but on the east coast only a small fraction of the
sun was blocked by the moon.
The eclipse took place in the early afternoon with the sun high in the sky,
making it impossible to capture the spectacular images from the 2002 eclipse
seen as ADAPs
last Thursday and
Friday.
However, that did not deter Parkes staff from viewing the eclipse!
Frustratingly, a large cloud blocked the first part of the eclipse,
but it eventually cleared to reveal the partially eclipsed sun, seen above
through the "lens" of some eclipse glasses.
As is apparent, the Parkes Dish, Murriyang, was also pointing close to the
sun at the time, observing the effects of the solar wind on the signals from nearby pulsars.
(Image credit: John Sarkissian)
As Tuesday April 25th is the ANZAC Day public holiday in Australia, the next ADAP will appear on Wednesday April 26th. |