 A Solar Eclipse
|
Nov. 21, 2003 — Hundreds of scientists and tourists were making final preparations Friday to become the first people ever to see a total solar eclipse in Antarctica.
About 100 people have boarded a former Soviet ice-breaker to see the only total solar eclipse of the year while two Qantas 747 planes will carry scientists and researchers to the spot.
The moon will mask the sun completely at 22:49 GMT on Nov. 23 over a bleak spot in Antarctica, halfway between South Africa and New Zealand. The phenomenon will only be visible from a narrow stretch of Antarctica and the adjacent ocean.
|
 
 |
|||||||
"But only a few people and lots of penguins will see it," said Jay Pasachoff, professor of astronomy at Williams College in the United States.
"We are excited and from 40,000 feet we think we'll have a good chance of seeing it," added Pasachoff, who is hoping to see his 37th solar eclipse on a 14-hour return flight from Melbourne.
Pasachoff and his colleagues hope to capture the entire image electronically using a new lens specially built for the purpose.
"We're very hopeful. It depends on getting at the right place at the right time. The navigation has been very carefully done and we hope the plane works — there are a lot of things that could go wrong so we're nervous and excited."
Expeditions have also been mounted by Russia, Switzerland and India, and workers at Maitri base (India), Novalazarevskaya and Mirny (Russia), Zhongshan (China) and Davis and Mawson (Australia) will also be close to the full eclipse.
Partial eclipses will also occur over most of Australia, except the northeastern Cape York, and New Zealand south of Wellington, prompting a warning for the public to avoid looking directly at the sun.
The cheapest fare for the tourists aboard the Kapitan Khlebnikov ice-breaker, who will spend a total of 28 days at sea after sailing from Port Elizabeth two weeks ago, was 18,995 dollars.
Total eclipses happen about once every 18 months, although they usually fall over the sea or uninhabited areas. The next one, on March 29, 2006, will traverse equatorial West Africa, the Sahara, Western Mediterranean, Turkey and Russia.
< news main
