Eclipse chasers

[bish]

The 2017 USA eclipse seems to be causing a bit of a buzz.  I must admit I fancy a nice holiday to the States, with the bonus of the chance of seeing an eclipse.  I do like a good eclipse, solar or lunar, and I know there are people who have been all over the world chasing eclipses. I have read that David Levy has logged 82 eclipses (must be partial/total both solar and  lunar). Are there any eclipse chasers on this forum?  How many have you seen (partial/total, lunar and solar), and have you been to any exotic places?

[Peter Drew]

I went to Turkey for the total solar eclipse. The build up to the eclipse is a mixture of excitement tempered by the anxiety of whether it will be clear. In the event it was perfect and as a result all possible phases of an eclipse have been seen. The post totality return to normal is a bit of an anticlimax but the buzz of the event lingers for a long time. Totality lasts only for a few minutes so if you are away for some considerable time it pays to be somewhere that offers extra interest. I don't think I will become an eclipse chaser as the one I witnessed was so good I can't imagine it could be improved on. You must see one though! 

[Scooot]

I'm not a chaser but saw totality in The Faroe Islands from the deck of a ship. Very, very fortunate given the conditions at the time. I would never imagined it could be so good and I'm very tempted by 2017 as I'd like to see one from on land. That's my image in my avatar.

[Paul M]

I planned ahead and traveled to Bulgaria for the 1999 eclipse. Turned out to be an excellent choice. It didn't make me want to return to Bulgaria but I hankered for another eclipse so went to Turkey for the 2006 eclipse. 

Both were planned using the unbelievable resource that is Fred Espenak :http://www.mreclipse.com/MrEclipse.html

For Turkey I found a hotel on the center line (along with many of the S&T entourage) and just strolled down to the beach for a stunning vista at totality.

For Bulgaria the best I could get was a hotel in Golden Sands but we were only a short bus ride from the center line. Another great seaward vista. 

So it's all in the planning. I planned very early for both my eclipse experiences. The only thing left to chance was the weather. Unfortunately I can't make the great USA eclipse because of my shift rota. But if I was planning it I'd be well into my plans by now!!

I read somewhere that this event will result in one of the greatest movements of humans ever! Many won't be moving very far. Many will be travelling round the world. So flights and accommodation will only get more difficult to find as this year progresses.

There is much planning to be done in just deciding on your preferred eclipse day site. Everything else is secondary. Cloud probability versus accessibility are the main considerations. You need to be either already on or very close to your observing site before the day. Else you might just see a deep partial through a red mist of road rage!!!

Wow! I'm missing the planning as much as I'm missing the eclipse...  

[bish]

15 hours ago, Scooot said:

I'm not a chaser but saw totality in The Faroe Islands from the deck of a ship. Very, very fortunate given the conditions at the time. I would never imagined it could be so good and I'm very tempted by 2017 as I'd like to see one from on land. That's my image in my avatar.

I read a report of that and it sounded amazing.

[bish]

15 hours ago, Paul M said:

I planned ahead and traveled to Bulgaria for the 1999 eclipse. Turned out to be an excellent choice. It didn't make me want to return to Bulgaria but I hankered for another eclipse so went to Turkey for the 2006 eclipse. 

Both were planned using the unbelievable resource that is Fred Espenak :http://www.mreclipse.com/MrEclipse.html

For Turkey I found a hotel on the center line (along with many of the S&T entourage) and just strolled down to the beach for a stunning vista at totality.

For Bulgaria the best I could get was a hotel in Golden Sands but we were only a short bus ride from the center line. Another great seaward vista. 

So it's all in the planning. I planned very early for both my eclipse experiences. The only thing left to chance was the weather. Unfortunately I can't make the great USA eclipse because of my shift rota. But if I was planning it I'd be well into my plans by now!!

I read somewhere that this event will result in one of the greatest movements of humans ever! Many won't be moving very far. Many will be travelling round the world. So flights and accommodation will only get more difficult to find as this year progresses.

There is much planning to be done in just deciding on your preferred eclipse day site. Everything else is secondary. Cloud probability versus accessibility are the main considerations. You need to be either already on or very close to your observing site before the day. Else you might just see a deep partial through a red mist of road rage!!!

Wow! I'm missing the planning as much as I'm missing the eclipse...  

I have to say that I generally love to plan my holidays, and think the planning is a big part of going away.  I've now booked an organised trip for the eclipse so as not to take a chance on hotels etc. I will change my return flight so I can (and my wife!) can do my own holiday at the end.