December 27, 2000
Local astronomer gets glimpse of eclipse
By Erik Burriss
Staff Writer
While area residents were engaging in Christmas activities -- traveling, worshiping, opening gifts, eating or resting up for other festivities -- one area amateur astronomer was getting ready to photograph Monday's partial solar eclipse.
"Being on Christmas Day made it rare, but a total eclipse is even more impressive," Tom Fretz said. While comets are rarer, and can be more exciting, an eclipse gives astronomers something to do during daylight hours for a change.
"In the day time you've only got one target, and that's the sun," he said.
The moon began passing in front of the sun at about 11 a.m. About an hour later, more than half of the sun was obscured. Attaching a filter that blocked out 98 percent of the sun's light to one end of his telescope and a camera to the other end, Fretz braved the elements to take pictures of the eclipse's progression.
"It was cold, so I'd run in to warm up every now and then," he said.
But other than that, the weather was cooperative.
"We had clear skies," he said. "It was unbelievable, as cloudy as it was all week."
A member of the Sandusky Valley Astronomy Club, Fretz has had a lifelong fascination with the heavens.
"Ever since I was a little boy I was interested in astronomy," he said.
Fretz used the opportunity to teach his three-year-old granddaughter, Nicole, a little bit about astronomy, although "she was more interested in Christmas presents."
Fretz punched a tiny hole in a paper plate and projected the sun's image onto another plate for his granddaughter to see the event.
"I didn't want to encourage her at all to look at the sun," he said. "Looking at the sun is one of the few dangers of astronomy."
"It works pretty well," Fretz said of his low-tech approach. "It's the simplest way and probably the best, unless you have specialized equipment."