Chasing a Total Solar Eclipse

Experiencing a total solar eclipse is always more than just seeing the event.

The Pacific Observatory along with Vacations Internationale lead a group of 34 North Americans, never ever to seasoned eclipse chasers to Cairo, Egypt for the March 29th event.

Touring the pyramids and other places dating back 5000 years, we started to absorb the unique contrasts of this setting.

Eclipse chasing is literally that. It is a specialized occupation completely controlled by "Murphy's law". The Forest Gump bumper sticker sums it up "it happens".

After touring the pyramids and a few sights around Cairo we headed north to the Mediterranean Sea to position ourselves for this eclipse.

Boarding the bus at 11:30 pm, we were prepared for an all night adventure but didn't realize that we would be bus racing across the edge of the Sahara. After slip streaming a bus for 45 minutes, it broke down and stopped on the roadside and after some time we saw more unlucky vehicles. At that point it was time to quietly cross our fingers as we headed for totality.

At 6:00 am, Venus, bright over the Sea was awaiting to be joined by the Sun and Moon as we start ascending up the Libyan Plateau from where we would watch.

Immediately we plunged into eclipse day chaos. The Egyptian Government built a temporary tent city out of brightly coloured fabrics. The scene was covered in a heavy morning fog. An eerie light bathed 80 telescopes in one small area. Armored personal turned us back at the Libyan boarder. We were lost in the acres of observing sites. Beside a bus that had been sucked into the clay like desert soil, we located our reserved area.

The Egyptian Government went over the top to make this a world class happening and it was. Estimates of 70,000 people had assembled. The edgy music cut through the air, it was a celebration of humanity.

For some of our eclipse group it had been a life long dream to see a total solar eclipse. Watching 1st contact had special meaning. At 11:20 am EET, the lunar disc began to orbit across the face of the sun. White light and H alpha views of the photosphere showed very few sunspots coinciding with NASA's solar minimum predictions for January 2007.

Shadows on the ground became fainter but crisp as the light source overhead became more compact, more focused. The slender solar crescent just before totality was chilling. In fact, the air temperature had dropped significantly and continued to fall through to 3rd contact.

Totality hit like an inverse lightening bolt. The solar minimum corona reached out east and west from the sun like cat whiskers. Venus had already been visible for 10 minutes, the planet Mercury then appeared between it and the Sun. A 360 degree sunset circled the horizon and the star, Capella shows herself.

Fiery orange prominences pop out at one o'clock and sever o'clock and finally at 4 o'clock. The Moon's motion uncovers different parts of the chromo sphere on the edge of the solar disk.

The crowd went nuts, but it's not a rock concert sort of frenzy. The communal emotion is one of amazement of seeing our three dimensional solar system perform this feat.

After three minutes and fifty-six seconds, Baily's beads and the diamond ring slam our eyes. It was no longer safe to look. Totality was over.

some weeks in our lives come and go. This week 34 eclipse chasers shared an intimate look at our star, the Sun, in ancient Muslim Egypt.

To find out about the next total solar eclipse visit NASA or e-mail John or Carol at stars@nemy.com