Partial Solar Eclipse of January 4, 2011

Unfortunately I wasn't able to see anything in neck of the woods (Den Bosch & Waalwijk, The Netherlands) because of cloud cover. Here's a somewhat shaky iPhone picture of how it looked like for me:

Luckily, a lot of other people across Europe, Africa and Asia did see it, and here are a few of their pictures:

First one of somebody in The Netherlands who did see it (via the Guardian):

In Barcelona, it was visible both above this great city (via de Volkskrant):

Or in the hand of an unnamed Spaniard (via de Volkskrant):

Here's a picture from a colleague in Sweden at the day job:

But the most spectacular one is from the Malaga, Spain: a seagull flying right in front of the eclipse (via the Guardian):

The next partial eclipse is on June 1, 2011: this one will be just before dusk (unlike the January 4 one which was just after dawn). Not visible in The Netherlands, and I won't be going to north Scandinavia to see it.

The next annular eclipse is on May 20, 2012: sweeps over Japan, continues over the Pacificjust below the Aleutian Islands before it enters Caifornia and Arizona. Yes, right over the Grand Canyon! My solar eclipse friends and I intend to be there, near Page.

The next total solar eclipse will be on November 13, 2012: flies over far north Queensland, then south of New Caledonia, norht of New Zealand over the Pacific. My solar eclipse friends and I have already booked accomodation in Port Douglas!