In 2009 we had the opportunity to visit China for the total solar eclipse of July 22. We stayed in Shanghai for four days, as we had already chosen the observation point which were about 70 km SW of Shanghai, the Dishui Lake.

The weather was awful. The whole sky was covered with clouds, but at least we could see the sun. So we set up our equipment and waited for the first contact. We were lucky to see the first contact but then the weather got worse and worse. The clouds were too many and too dark. No trace of the sun. Minutes before the second contact we didn’t even know where to look. We were absolutely sure that we won’t see the eclipse, so we had quit. And then, miracle! Two minutes before the diamond ring the sun becomes visible, cloud covered but visible! We run to our cameras. Shortly we noticed that the settings must be changed because of the clouds. Meanwhile a bright diamond ring appeared and the longest eclipse of the century started. The corona was magnificent. However, the second diamond ring took our breaths away. Incredibly bright, irresistibly beautiful…

Happy Faces - Photo Collage from john Efremidis

Video form the Eclipse  - Video Capture & Editing : Vaggelis Tsamis, John Efremidis, Stella Soultou & Christina Nychteridi