Together with her father Pancras Dijk, Eline came to Oostzaan. Her father has already seen several solar eclipses. “The stars, the sun, heaven, it appeals to the imagination. I am glad we are experiencing this together,” he says.
Around a quarter past twelve the highlight was the solar eclipse. Then the sun was covered for about 37 percent.
Super fans
Some visitors came with their own equipment. Eric van Tilburg had made a special lens filter for his camera to be able to photograph the solar eclipse. “At such a moment like today you want to record the solar eclipse and look at it,” he says. “This is extra special for me, because I have experienced the full solar eclipse of 1999. This is a memory of it.”
It was also a special day for amateur astronomer Sidney Strangmann. Yet he is already looking ahead: the next solar eclipse on 12 August 2026 is already in the agenda with him. “Then we get 90 percent embezzlement in the Netherlands. Then it becomes really exciting. With such a big eclipse, birds can think that it will be night and go back to their nests.”
A little after one hour this afternoon the sun appeared completely again and the spectacle was over. “It was fascinating,” Pancras concludes. “Next year we will try to be there again.”