Partial Lunar eclipse and Transit of Venus

[Dolphin]

That's excellent Mark.
I was similarly trying to highlight the fact that, although beautiful and amazing in its own right, the Transit of Venus allowed an outstanding leap in the understanding of the solar system and putting a number to the size of the solar system. You have explained it well here.

I was amazed at the media that just kept concentrating on the number of people just staring down telescopes.
It was ABC Newcastle that had Paul ?? ex Quantum presenter who actually explained its importance.

I'll just go back to sailin' 'round the lake, waiting for another 105 years.

QED

[storm petrel]

I know Paul from catalyst and worked with him on a special science day for the public the ABC put on a few years ago. He is actually a paleontologist but is a real enthusiast about anything to do with science.

The next really neat event in Aust is the full eclipse on the 12th of Nov. sadly, the only big population centre it passes over is Cairns. I would love to go up, but I am sure accommodation would be impossible to get, even at this stage and it not a good time to be sailing up there(even if I could get off work to do so).

Now a full eclipse takes us back to the remarkable Arthur Eddington, when in 1919 on the Island of Principe off West Africa he measured the deflection of starlight by the gravitational field of the sun that Einstein had predicted would occur in his 1915 theory of general relativity. It was this spectacular verification of his theory that made Einstein an international superstar. There is fabulous BBC television drama called Eddington and Einstein about this event that was made a couple of years ago but sadly it never made it to Australian TV.

Anyway, back to sailing..............

[Dolphin]

Right Mark, thanks for that.
Its always good to have an expert on hand.
Here are the details of the next solar eclipse which just happens to pass through Cairns.

Now that would be a good sailing get together, but considering we can't even organise one on our doorstep I don't hold much hope for it.

I saw one in the 70s at Eden and it was the most awsome thing I've experienced, astronomically.

Now, back to sailing.