Page 24 - BBC Sky at Night - September 2017 UK

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MESSAGE
OF THE
A Homeric eclipse MONTH

I have been lucky enough to have
chased six total solar eclipses
round the world to date, and
I hope to experience the US
This month’s top prize: total solar eclipse at Idaho
Falls on 21 August 2017. On
four Philip’s books my recent holiday to Greece in
The ‘Message of the May 2017 I had the chance to
Month’ writer will visit the island of Ithaca, homeland
receive four top titles courtesy of of Odysseus, the hero of Homer’s epic Michael beside
astronomy publisher Philips: Robin poem. I was intrigued to discover that in the iconic statue
Scagell’s Complete Guide to Stargazing, The Odyssey, an eclipse coincided with of Odysseus at
Sir Patrick Moore’s The Night Sky, Robin Ithaca harbour
Scagell and David Frydman’s Stargazing Odysseus’s homecoming after a decade in Greece and
with Binoculars and Heather Couper and fighting the Trojan War and another 10 (inset) a partial
Nigel Henbest’s 2018 Stargazing. years voyaging home. Using NASA eclipse eclipse image he
data, Greek geologists and physicists have took in Turkey
narrowed this eclipse down to an annular
eclipse that occurred on 30 October 1207 from now on will have a perspective of
Tales from BC. In turn, this ancient eclipse research ancient history.
THE EYEPIECE suggests that the Trojan War commenced Michael Knowles, Mansfield
in 1227 BC and ended in 1217 BC. No
Stories and strange tales from the world matter what anyone’s circumstances are Some remarkable insight into one of
of amateur astronomy by Jonathan Powell
during an eclipse, we can be sure these the oldest works of Western literature,
For many years, when my turn came to events had a big influence in the time of Michael. Good luck with your upcoming
look through the eyepiece when observing Odysseus and of Homer. Any eclipses I see trip to the US! – Ed
in a group I became flustered: fumbling to
remove my glasses, let alone knowing where
to put them, followed by the banging of Unexpected delights
the bridge of my nose on the eyepiece, Tweets
then squinting at an object that was out I was just settling down on my sunlounger
of focus and just about to leave the field to go through Stephen Tonkin’s Binocular Colin Whitman
of view. Many times I would say that I had Tour of Cepheus when a bright meteor @R30ColinWhitman • Jul 24
seen the object to avoid embarrassment, but raced up from the southern horizon past First attempt at photographing
in truth I hadn’t, and it was highly frustrating. Vega. Looking at the star map I realised it the #Milkyway coming out
Decades on, with motor drives keeping a of my right chimney #Stars
constant lock on an object, it isn’t a problem must have come from the vicinity of @newslineweather @barrabest
– but the question of whether to take my Capricorn and being a couple of days off @WeatherCee @angie_weather
glasses off remains a bone of contention. the maximum of the Alpha Capricornid
For me it’s off, quickly followed by meteor shower, I suspect it was one of
“where did I put my glasses?” and the them. To paraphrase Forest Gump – the
realisation that I might have left them night sky is like a box of chocolates – you
where someone else is now sitting!
never know what you are going to get!
Jonathan Jeff Mason, Stockport
Powell is the
astronomy
correspondent You’re quite right Jeff: unexpected
for the South pleasures like bright meteors are one of the
Wales Argus great things about this hobby of ours. – Ed

skyatnightmagazine.com 2017