“Climatology is what we expect, but the weather is what we get” a famous meteorogist once said, and is very accurate for eclipse chasing. The chances to have cristal clear skies from Mexico were almost 80%, from Texas (Mexican border) some 70% and on the other side of the umbral path, in Maine or Canada, 10-15% chances of clear sky. 10 days prior to the Eclipse-Day we had the first reliable forecast: Texas 10% chances and Maine 90%! The situation is real and stayed that way till the day of the eclipse. We had to change plans, not to chase the eclipse in Texas but to escape clouds in northern Arkansas. And we did just so, with the help of live satellite images and good last minute forecast (ICON, GFS and ECMWF, in this order).
This is a 10 seconds time-lapse from Clinton, Arkansas, from where we had good clear sky with a very thin layer of cirrus, visible only at C2 and C3 when I exposed the photographs for diamond rings.
This was my 14th total eclipse expedition. I chose East Timor for several reasons, but the most important, I must admit, was the budget. I studied the weather pattern well, using satellite images, and came to the conclusion that the chances of a clear sky for the time of the eclipse (not necessarily on the day of observation, so exactly at the minute of the eclipse) are actually sufficient for the success of the expedition (over 65% chances of clear skies). Obviously, the statistics are one thing and the reality on the day of the observation can be completely different. But this time, things worked out and we had a completely clear sky at the time of totality, on April 20, 2023.
I had two goals for this excursion: the first, obviously, to observe the eclipse on clear sky and the second, to give a presentation at a school in East Timor. The observation of the eclipse was successful, and I held the presentation for the children from the “CAFE Manatuto school”, at the invitation of the Portuguese Embassy in East Timor, through the educational program CAFE project – Centros de Aprendizagem e Formacao Escolar de Timor-Leste, a bilateral cooperation project between Portugal and East Timor.
I had the honor and privilege of talking to the children on that remote island about eclipses and astronomy for two hours. One thing is certain: children are the same all over the world, they are intelligent, curious and understand science if you explain it interactively.
This was my 11th total solar eclipse and definitely one of the most beautiful I’ve seen due to low elevation of the eclipsed Sun.
My observing point was some 60km east of Punta Colorada, in a remote area, just south of Atacama region, at 1788m altitude with a great vista to the eclipse passage. From that point, we could actually see the ocean (well, covered by clouds) and the entire valley to the shore.
The corona was elongated, as expected, but washed out by the low atmosphere and low solar activity. The same with the 7-o’clock prominence witch was faint, the same elevation from chromosphere as 2017TSE, but fainter.
Nevertheless, the umbra was just fantastic, almost in conical shape from our vintage point and the colors of the horizon, shapes and tones cannot be resembled in pictures!
Here are some pictures from our trip to Atacama, images of the TSE and three videos with the passing umbra from two different locations. Before departure to my observing site, I set up a small camera on the balcony of our room and the images are spectacular, with the crowds enjoying the phenomenon, from the beach of La Serena.
Equipment: Camera – Panasonic Lumix S1R and Panasonic Lumix S1; Telescope – CFF Oil Spaced Triplet 80/6; Mount – Astrotrac 2, Tripod Heads Manfrotto, Carbon fiber tripod. This time, no software for the acquisition of the images.
My expedition to the Total Solar Eclipse 2010 in French Polynesia begins today. Stay tuned for pictures of the adventure and of course of the eclipsed Sun. For daily briefings, visit also http://club.samsungmobile.ro/expeditiepacific
