This week, I saw The Northern Lights over Mill Hill. I even managed to get a couple of pictures. It got me asking myself what were the most impressive heavenly observations I've seen.
Here they are.
1. The almost total eclipse in August 1999. I was working in Leman St. The Sun was 96% blocked out. Everyone and everything in London stopped and we gazed at the heavens. Although it was not total, it was a magical experience. The city went quiet. We watched from the roof of 99 Leman St, the old Co-op building and then went to the pub. It was one of those special days.
2. A lunar eclipse in around 1968. My brother Laurie was living at home. He told me that at 9pm, the moon was going to turn blood red and the vampires would come out. I didn't believe him. At 9pm, he came up and took me into the garden to show me the moon. He told me to sleep with a Rosary by the bed in case Count Dracula came. I was terrified.
3. A large meteorite in around 1971. I saw a huge meteorite pass over Mill Hill in 1971. It was spectacular. Apparently it eventually crashed into a bog in Northern Ireland. The date may be wrong, but I was highly excited. It was on the news the next day.
4. Seeing the moon and Venus through a telescope for the first time. My Dad bought me a telescope for my tenth birthday. I was mightily impressed to be able to see Venus as a crescent and the cratered surface of the moon. For a week, I looked at it every night. Then I got bored, but that first view was magical. I hoped to see aliens on the moon, but couldn't see any.
5. The Southern Cross. When went to Australia, we stayed in a fairly remote part for a couple of nights, on a place called Dunk Island. At night you could see the Milky way clearly (you can't in Mill Hill). Seeing the Southern Cross was special as the son of an Aussie.
What were yours?
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