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WAITING FOR THE
SHADOW
SOLAR AND LUNAR ECLIPSE OBSERVINGREPORTS AND OBSERVATIONS - ZAMBIA 2001 |
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Observing group I travelled independently to Lusaka. I arranged to meet Bengt Alfredson from Guttenberg, Sweden in Lusaka and observe the eclipse with him. On the plane to Lusaka, I struck up a conversation with a German traveller sitting next to me. Before long Christian Fritzkowski had joined our small group. I stayed in the village of Kapini for four days during the week prior to totality and found a disaster in the making. Lack of educational resources and misinformation garnered from the radio meant that the villagers had plans to observe with inappropriate filters or naked eye. They heard on the radio that it was ok to watch the partial eclipse naked eye but they needed to use a filter or turn away during the total eclipse. Children were collecting aluminized sweet wrappers to use as "solar filters." I conducted an educational campaign during my initial four day visit and convinced the others in the group to return with me on eclipse day to assist the villagers and hopefully prevent widespread eye damage. This aspect is covered in detail in my other report. An English observer Jeffrey Eccleston took an interest in our project and asked to join in.
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