August 11, 1999

12:28'21" pm - 12:29'41" pm (Luxembourg City)

We would have had the big luck to witness a total solar eclipse in Luxembourg ... if the weather had done it ! It didn't, at least not for most locations! I wanted to observe the eclipse in France, a little bit at the north of Metz, on the central line, to be able to admire the totality as long as possible. But there, the sky was completely cloudy, and only after totality, the clouds became a little bit lighter. Here are some pictures of this phase :

Next appointments : Total lunar eclipses on May 16 and November 9 2003

12:28 pm : During the total eclipse, there was nothing to be seen in the sky. Thus was the appearance of the highway near my location during totality :
	It was only a quarter of an hour later that the clouds began to lighten up : 12:45 pm : A first glance on the sun, photographed without a filter through the clouds.
Two minutes later : 12:47 pm : The moon continues to move apart.
	12:48 pm : The clouds have dispersed so much that I can (and must !) use my filter on the camera.
12:50 pm : It goes fast : piece by piece, the moon continues to free up the sun again. Still one hour, and the whole spectacle is over.
	1:00 pm : Half the sun can be seen again. The clouds grow denser again.
My location was near a small lake. This picture, taken at 1:05 pm, is a reflection of the sun in the water.
	1:25 pm : "Partially Eclipsed Sun in Burning Sky" I dedicate this picture to all the people who feared (or hoped) the end of the world would come.
1:45 pm : Only a small part of the sun keeps being eclipsed.
	1:51 pm : The 4th contact. In a few moments, the sun is completely free again. The spectacle, unfortunately covered most of the time, is over.