Because of the high population densities in areas of the path, this was one of the most-viewed total solar eclipses in human history;^[4] although some areas in the path of totality (mainly in Western Europe) offered impaired visibility due to adverse weather conditions.

Some of the organized eclipse-watching parties along the path of totality set up video projectors on which people could watch the moon's shadow as it raced towards them.^[5] There was substantial coverage on international TV stations of the progress of the eclipse shadow. The moon's shadow was also observed from the Russian Mir space station; during the eclipse, video from Mir was broadcast live on television.

• The BBC concentrated its coverage efforts on the first landfall of the shadow across the western end of Cornwall (from St Ives to Lizard), which was packed with an extraordinary number of visitors, although Cornwall did not have nearly as many spectators as expected leading many organised events to host smaller audiences than anticipated. The veteran amateur astronomer, broadcaster and eclipse-watcher Patrick Moore was brought in to head a live programme, but the eclipse was clouded out. BBC One also produced a special version of their Balloon Idents for the event. The BBC did not have a presence at Goonhilly on the Lizard Peninsula, one of the few places in Cornwall where the clouds parted just in time for the total eclipse to be visible. There was extensive cloud in Perranporth which parted just in time, allowing the very large crowd that had filled the beach and hillsides to witness the event.
• Some of the best viewing conditions were to be had mid-Channel, where ferries were halted in calm conditions to obtain an excellent view. Hundreds of people who gathered on the island of Alderney also experienced the event.
• Also at sea, many of the Fastnet fleet contestants encountered totality crossing the Celtic Sea on their way to the Fastnet Rock.^[6]
• A gathering of several thousand people at the airport in Soissons, France, which was on the path of totality, were denied all but a few fleeting glimpses of the eclipse through the overcast sky. The clouds cleared completely just a few minutes after the eclipse.
• In contrast, the overcast sky in Amiens, France, where thousands had gathered, cleared only minutes before the eclipse began.
• Further inland, viewing conditions were also perfect at Vouziers, a French country town gridlocked by Belgian cars from day-visitors. The patchy cloud covering cleared a short time before the shadow arrived. Some photos from Vouziers were used on the subsequent BBC Sky at Night programme.
• The San Francisco Exploratorium featured a live webcast from a crowded town square in Amasya, Turkey.
• Doordarshan, the national TV channel in India, broadcast live coverage from Srikakulam, hosted by TV personality Mona Bhattacharya.
• A Bulgarian Air Force MiG-21 two-seater was used by the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences to study the solar corona. The MiG-21, flying at 1600–1700 km/h (1000 to 1100 mph) (M=1,4-1,5) at an altitude of 13,000 metres (43,000'), was able to stay in the moon's umbra for 6 min. The photographer, an air force pilot, used two film cameras, both fitted with 200 mm lenses and infrared filters, and one Digital8 video camera.
• Hungary's most popular tourist destination, Lake Balaton and its surrounding area, fell into the path of the eclipse entirely, which made the area even more popular for the day. The motorway leading to the city was so crowded that many people had to watch the eclipse while caught in a traffic jam.
• One French and two British Concordes briefly followed the eclipse with tourists on board.^[7]
• The BBC was filming one of its episodes for the TV series Airport that day and, during the show, resident press officers Russell Clisby and Steve Meller took photographs of the eclipse at Heathrow Airport, as well as Aeroflot supervisor Jeremy Spake witnessing the eclipse on a special charter flight.
• RTS, the national public broadcaster of Serbia, urged people to remain inside, citing dangers to public health. This caused the streets of all Serbian cities, towns and villages to be entirely deserted during the eclipse, with many opting to watch it on TV instead.^[8]
• The BMJ, a month after the eclipse, reported only 14 cases of eye damage from improper viewing of the eclipse - a number lower than initially feared. In one of the most serious cases the patient had looked at the sun without eye protection for twenty minutes, but overall the public health campaign had succeeded.^[9]

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  Salzburg, Austria
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  Partial from Paderborn, Germany
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  Partial from Oria, Italy
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  Partial from Haarlem, the Netherlands
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  Projection in Oslo, Norway
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  Lake Balaton, Hungary
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  Laon, France

Eclipses of 1999 edit

• A penumbral lunar eclipse on January 31.
• An annular solar eclipse on February 16.
• A partial lunar eclipse on July 28.
• A total solar eclipse on August 11.

Solar eclipses 1997–2000 edit

This eclipse is a member of a semester series. An eclipse in a semester series of solar eclipses repeats approximately every 177 days and 4 hours (a semester) at alternating nodes of the Moon's orbit.^[12]

Partial solar eclipses on July 1, 2000 and December 25, 2000 occur in the next lunar year eclipse set.

Saros 145 edit

This solar eclipse is a part of Saros cycle 145, repeating every 18 years, 11 days, 8 hours, containing 77 events. The series started with a partial solar eclipse on January 4, 1639, and reached a first annular eclipse on June 6, 1891. It was a hybrid event on June 17, 1909, and total eclipses from June 29, 1927, through September 9, 2648. The series ends at member 77 as a partial eclipse on April 17, 3009. The longest eclipse will occur on June 25, 2522, with a maximum duration of totality of 7 minutes, 12 seconds. All eclipses in this series occurs at the Moon's ascending node.

Metonic series edit

The metonic series repeats eclipses every 19 years (6939.69 days), lasting about 5 cycles. Eclipses occur in nearly the same calendar date. In addition, the octon subseries repeats 1/5 of that or every 3.8 years (1387.94 days). All eclipses in this table occur at the Moon's ascending node.

• Sleeping Sun (1999), by the Finnish band Nightwish
• Les Terriens (2000), French documentary directed by Ariane Doublet
• Les Ensoleillés (2002), compilation of around twenty short stories based on the 1999 eclipse, written by Joël Egloff

• List of solar eclipses visible from the United Kingdom

• Earth visibility chart and eclipse statistics Eclipse Predictions by Fred Espenak, NASA/GSFC
  • Google interactive map
  • Besselian elements

• Eclipse at hermit.org
• "Club Krile Magazine", Vol. 11, 1999, "Air Group 2000" Publishing, Sofia, Bulgaria
• The Total Solar Eclipse of 1999 August 11
• Russia expedition

Photos

• Turkey. Prof. Druckmüller's eclipse photography site
• Hungary. Prof. Druckmüller's eclipse photography site
• France. Prof. Druckmüller's eclipse photography site
• Bulgaria
• Solar Corona Shape
• Exploratorium Webcast: Solar Eclipse August 11, 1999
• KryssTal - Eclipse in Cornwall (UK)—totality not seen but scene photographed
• Solar eclipse of August 11, 1999 Romania, shown in Romanian Maximum Card Archived August 21, 2019, at the Wayback Machine
• Solar eclipse of August 11, 1999 Romania, shown in Romanian Maximum Card Archived August 21, 2019, at the Wayback Machine
• Images from Turkey by Crayford Manor House Astronomical Society Archived 2013-02-09 at archive.today
• A Crescent Sunrise, APOD 8/17/1999, partial eclipse from Quebec, Canada
• Sun Block, APOD 8/18/1999, totality from Hungary
• Light From The Dark Sun, APOD 8/19/1999, totality from Siofok, Hungary
• At The Sun's Edge, APOD 8/20/1999, totality near Bagdere, Turkey
• The Big Corona, APOD 4/8/2001, totality by Fred Espenak
• Total Eclipse of the Active Sun, APOD 6/20/2001, from Kecel, Hungary
• Diamond Ring in the Sun, APOD 6/21/2001, totality from eastern Turkey
• Looking Back at an Eclipsed Earth, APOD 9/26/2004, total eclipse shadow seen from Mir spacestation, chosen as APOD again on 6/10/2007
• Russian scientist observed eclipse