I Love It When A Plan Comes Together

In the 18 years I have chased eclipses, we have had our ups and downs. Some have been breezes to get to, others have been nail biters. This one ranks at the top of the 10 Total Solar Eclipses I have seen as being the most down-to-the-wire experience I have encountered.

Previous blogs told how we were in Shanghai, but the weather prospects were growing increasingly dismal. At the last minute, we pulled the plug and made a dash 450 miles west to try to outrun the clouds. At 4 AM, it seemed we had done that. Venus shined brightly out the window of our hotel room through thin cirrus clouds. However, as we got up for breakfast, things seemed infinitely worse as thick clouds moved in from the east – the direction of the rising sun. Resigned to our fate, we headed for our preselected observing spot, a small park located near the airport. As a steely-eyed Wuhan cab driver took us north through rush hour traffic, the clouds started getting thinner again raising a ray of hope.

Arriving at the observing site just at 1st contact, we quickly set up amongst a group of Japanese eclipse chasers. Several had arrived from different cities in Japan. Conditions were still not ideal, but they were good enough as 2nd contact approached all too rapidly. The magic moment had arrived with the Diamond Ring making its appearance. I got a distinct view of the last bits of the chromosphere being covered by the encroaching moon. Then, the outer corona appeared, although it was partially obscured by the thin cirrus we were observing through.



Norm Sperling once said that all eclipses last 8 seconds. Although I have a memory of running around operating several cameras, that is a dim impression compared to my memory of the features of the Corona, the Diamond Rings on both sides, Venus above the Eclipse and the amazing 360 degree sunset. It was over too soon.

Video does not give a good representation of a Total Solar Eclipse. I present some of what I have here, although it has been trimmed to a shorter length. Alson got some good stuff through the thin clouds and I got some good wide angle views which just might come closest to describing the experience. An experience that cannot be adequately described.