Topic: Total Solar Eclipse Sunday—Most Remote of the Century?

[sam]

On Sunday the moon's shadow will sweep across Earth during one of the most remote total solar eclipses of the century.

The eclipse will be visible only along a narrow, 155-mile-wide (250-kilometer-wide) band that will cross the Pacific Ocean, starting north of New Zealand at 2:15 p.m. ET and ending in the southernmost tip of South America at 4:52 p.m. ET.

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2010/07/100709-science-space-total-solar-eclipse-2010-easter-island/

[Simon]

I'll get my coat... 

[sam]

I'll get my coat... 

 

[Clive]

I fancied seeing that one from Easter Island but historically, the weather prospects were very poor so I decided not to bother.  I wonder if I would have seen it should I have taken the chance?

[sam]

maybe, first result I came across: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/38172384/ns/technology_and_science-space/

[Clive]

NASA got its predictions spectacularly wrong then.     You just cannot rely on weather forecasts!  It would have been quite a trek to get there as I would have had to fly to Chile and get a cruise ship to Easter Island which takes quite a few days.  But if I had been confident of seeing it then I would have gone. 

[Simon]

I wonder how many did make a special journey?

[Clive]

Thousands.  There are people known as "Eclipse Chasers" who go to all of them wherever they are in the world.  We have a guy in our society who rarely misses a total eclipse but he heeded NASA's weather forecast too.   

[Simon]

I always wonder how these people fund such a lifestyle.

[Clive]

Yes, I wonder how they manage it.  Of course, total solar eclipses only take place once every 2 or 3 years and some of those are more or less inaccessible - a bit like the Easter Island event.  I've seen two and I can see how people become hooked on them.  A 99.99% eclipse is nowhere near as good as totality because even 0.01% of the Sun's disk is an incredibly bright
object. 

[Simon]

The one we had here a few years back was weird enough, when everything went quiet.  I'd love to witness a full eclipse.

[Clive]

HERE is a list of all eclipses during the next 10 years but remember you are only looking for totals.  There are no easy ones available.   

[Simon]

None in Brighton?  Damn!   

[sam]

The only one I've experience was the one in Cornwall and typical England it was cloudy. I've seen lots of partial solar and lunar eclipses, though nice I'm sure they don't live up to the full experience.

I think we are going to have to take a trip at some point to see one, but damn all those places sound like they will be costly.

[Clive]

It's a big problem.  My first was just north of Paris in 1999 and my second was in Turkey in 2006 so both were very easy for travelling.  There is one in Iceland in 2015 but the prospects of seeing it are poor because of probable cloud cover.