My Head in the Clouds…Looking Up !

At the start of the week, there was a strong solar storm, and as the magnetometer readings got higher, it was predicted that the Northern Lights would be seen all over England… so, what do I do ? Get the gear on, and go chasing them… firstly up to Mam Tor , where the cloudy mist prevented anything to be seen, then back home, abandon the van, and walk up onto the moors above the village, hopefully with better conditions… all the time my phone beeping and telling me the solar storm was hitting the atmosphere… I’d be bound to see something… wouldn’t I ?? Sadly no !, the low cloud was shielding the horizon, although higher up was clear, and I could see lots of twinkling stars… whilst in other parts of the UK, great sights were there to behold http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2015/03/18/aurora-borealis-uk-pictures-north-of-england_n_6891724.html

Eventually I decided to give up, and went home for at least a few hours sleep.. tried hard, failed… not so miserably !

Within a couple of days, the next event was arriving… a partial solar eclipse http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_eclipse_of_March_20,_2015 …which I would be able to see from my front garden, if the clouds stayed away ! I was set up in the garden, ready with my old solar specs ( Ta P.P. !) As the eclipse got going, the clouds magically cleared, and I had great views of the moon crossing in front of the sun and I could see the suns corona flashing around the limits of the moon… magic, and worth waiting for ! Just as the eclipse ended the clouds magically appeared again, so I was able to get the shopping done !!