I am currently travelling through Peru and Argentina en route to the Total Eclipse!
On 11 July 2010, a Total Solar Eclipse will be visible from a long corridor that spans the southern Pacific Ocean. Tahiti will be teeming with eclipse seekers and adventurers taking to the sea in cruise liners and boarding flights to remote Tuamotu Islands. Easter Island will also be packed to its shores with human eyes looking skyward.
Animation of the Total Solar Eclipse of 11 July 2010
But at the end of the eclipse day, the Moon’s shadow crosses extreme southern Chile/Argentina where an organization called Eclipse-City will operate a private charter to fly into the path of the eclipse in mid air and intercept the shadow at 35,000 feet. This is where I will be! It’s my first observation from an aircraft! Miles above the clouds, we are guaranteed a perfect view! From this unique vantage point, we will see approximately 3:50 of Totality.
In the weeks prior to the eclipse, I will be visiting Peru for the first time. I land in Lima – visit Puno – Lake Titicaca – then take the train through the Andes to Cuzco where I will embark on the famous Inca Trail hike up to Machu Picchu. This spectacular trek takes three days and is one of the most intense hikes of my eclipse chasing career! Amazing! Then it’s back to Lima before making my way through Buenos Aires and on to El Calafate where our eclipse flight takes off on July 11. This is the last total eclipse until the end of 2012 so it had better be a good one!
This eclipse is now part of eclipse chasing history!!! Read the Trip Report, see the photos and video here.
For more on this eclipse, visit Fred Espenak’s dedicated NASA web page here.
You must see a Total Eclipse of the Sun from the air before you die!
Hello! Is that last seat still empty? I’m on a crazy budget but I am very curious about the cost. Thanks for your time.
Jeff
My wife and I are going to El Calafate for the eclipse. We have our hotel and a rental car. We’re interested in joining with others to find a spot where we can have a clear view of the western horizon down to zero degrees above, or close to it, preferably near a road or roads to allow for last-minute mobility if needed. Please contact: Richard Rosichan, 2060 Alton Road, Miami Beach, Florida 33140-4563. Phone 305-674-9148. E mail: Corona70@aol.com. Thank you.