Total Solar Eclipse, November 13/14, 2012, Australia

The sign-up to reserve space for the November 2012 Australia trip is now available ... Nov2012EclispeSignUp.pdf. We have room for a maximum of 70 people on this trip.

As of September 2010, we have 1 shared female room left! All other spaces are taken.

We are starting a waitlist in case any slots open up. If interested, please complete an application but do not include payment of your deposit. You will be contacted if space becomes available. There is no obligation to join the waitlist.

For more details on this eclipse, see:

• Total Solar Eclipse of 2012 Nov 13.
• Jay Anderson's page for this eclipse.
• Eclipse track for Google Earth (from http://xjubier.free.fr/en/site_pages/SolarEclipsesGoogleMaps.html).

And, Cairns offers lots of activities from snorkling and diving the Great Barrier Reef, to much more. For some examples, see http://www.cairnsattractions.com.au/cairns.php.

Total Solar Eclipse, July 22, 2009, China

We were successful in viewing the Total Solar Eclipse. We changed plans regarding the observing site the night before, deciding to stay much closer (just northwest) of Hangzhou. We observed the eclipse from:

 30° 18' 52.1" N   30.31446°     5m26.9s (total eclipse)
120° 03' 47.7" E  120.06326°

Umbral depth : 63.32%    Magnitude at mid eclipse : 1.02423
Obscuration : 100.00%    Moon/Sun size ratio : 1.07654

Event (deltaT=66.5s)           Time (UT)    Alt   Azi	  
--------------------           ---------    ---   ---
Start of partial eclipse (C1) 00:21:05.8  +38.6° 087.3°	 
Start of total eclipse (C2)   01:33:58.3  +54.3° 097.3°	
Mid eclipse                   01:36:41.2  +54.9° 097.7°	 
End of total eclipse (C3)     01:39:25.2  +55.5° 098.2°	
End of partial eclipse (C4)   02:59:06.2  +71.8° 119.7°

Local time is +08:00 UT.

View the "What to Expect during the July 22, 2009 Total Solar Eclipse" presentation - PDF - 1.3MB, PPT - 2.7MB.

Also, make sure to complete the CTS Tour Reservation Form after reading the CTS Terms & Conditions. You may ignore the sections of the form that ask you to complete the tour name, departure city, departure date, and the section that asks you to provide any “special requests” pertaining to the tour, as this data has already been captured previously on the personal information form and been provided to CTS.

A few highlights:

• Next payment is due December 19th, 2008.
• If using CTS for your visa, send it to CTS in May 2009 (more details to follow). Prepare by having a passport photo taken.
• Provide your flight information on the Flight Information Sheet.

Please see:

• Short Itinerary.
• Extended Itinerary.

Please book your air travel to/from China! Continental has the best fare at the moment (via Newark). United is another alternative (but a bit more expensive).

If on the SHORT tour:

• You must arrive in Shanghai (PVG) no later than the afternoon of Sunday, July 19th, 2009. We will be staying in Shanghai that evening.
• Your return from Shanghai (PVG) must be no sooner than Friday, July 24th, 2009.

If on the EXTENDED tour:

• You must arrive in Shanghai (PVG) no later than the afternoon of Sunday, July 19th, 2009. We will be staying in Shanghai that evening.
• Your return from Beijing (PEK) must be no sooner than Wednesday, July 29th.

Note: Twilight Tours has a separate trip which has slightly different departure/return dates. If you are on the ATMoB trip, make sure you use the above dates.

A few highlights:

• As air travel to/from China is on your own:
  • You must arrive in Shaghai no later than the afternoon of Sunday, July 19th, 2009.
  • For those taking only the short tour, your return from Shanghai must be no sooner than Friday, July 24th, 2009.
  • For those taking the extended tour, which concludes in Beijing, your return must be from Beijing no sooner than Wednesday, July 29th.
  • Bookings are not possible until late August 2008 (330 days in advance).
  • Note that Twilight Tours has a separate trip which has slightly different departure/return dates. If you are on the ATMoB trip, make sure you use the above dates.
• You will need to apply for a visa (applications can be made no more than 6 months in advance). See the PRC embassy web site and second newsletter for full details.

• The extension to the short trip program is ready! This extension adds Xian (Terra-cotta Warriors and more) and Beijing (Tian'anmen Square, Forbidden City, Temple of Heaven, Great Wall, and more) for a total trip length of 11 days. Folks selecting this program will return on Wednesday, July 29, 2009. Cost of the short trip with extension is $2,575/pp (price is subject to change), and includes two flights within China (Hangzhou to Xian and Xian to Beijing). Details are at http://www.twilighttours.net/atmob. If you're on the short trip and would like to add the extension, please contact Joel Harris and CC Mario Motta. No additional deposit is required at this time.
• Joel Harris will be making a site visit to Shanghai/Hangzhou in August 2007. Bernie Volz will join Joel, paying his own way, to assist Joel in final site selections and other details. Photos from the site visit and more details will be available later in 2007.

Hello all ATMoB, MMS, and prior eclipse chasers!

As promised, Bernie Volz and I have worked on setting up a trip for the Total Solar Eclipse on July 22, 2009. After a bit of leg work, we have settled on Hangzhou, China. We did look into other locations, such as the Island of Entewok (Marshall Islands), but determined that facilities, logistics, and weather prospects simply did not work. Hangzhou, China has ease of travel, great facilities, and the best weather prospects along the eclipse track.

For this trip, we are fortunate to be able to link up with a dear friend of many ATMoB members, Mr. Joel Harris, in California, who though he has a day job as an engineer, is a great amateur astronomer like us. He has a side business called Twilight Tours that has taken large and small groups to see many Total Solar Eclipses. For the 2009 Eclipse, he has set up a two week long trip for about 50 people. We have decided to pool our resources and join with him for the days around the eclipse at Hangzhou. Joel has already done extensive investigations of this site, secured great facilities, and will be doing a site visit in 2007. He has set up a short 1-week itinerary for the ATMoB. For details, check out the itinerary, facilities, and registration form at the special Twilight Tours web site for this trip (http://www.twilighttours.net/atmob).

This is the base trip for those that want to just go to the eclipse, and leave shortly afterward. Of course, many will want to tour China. We will work on a group extension, after getting feedback from all who sign up. Likely we will go to the Great Wall, Beijing, etc. Participants may join in this, go off on their own, leave for home, or you may want to do the entire 2-week trip with Twilight Tours and Joel if that fits your schedule best.

The good news for me is that unlike the last eclipse, where TravelQuest insisted on a group check, Joel will accept direct payments, including credit card payments! (I will of course be very happy to organize, plan, and arrange, but I am very happy NOT to handle the funds this time!)

A few points:

1. Cost for the trip as outlined in the attached document is $1,100/pp (price is subject to change). I think a great deal. Round-trip airfare is not included and is currently running ~$1000 from Chicago. Airfare may go up and can not be locked in until 330 days before.
2. Deposit is $300/pp, to hold the space. Of this, $100/pp is non-refundable. Bernie and I have done this to cut down on the fairly large amount of trip shopping some had done with the past eclipse (booking, canceling, re-booking, etc). Remaining payments start 1 year before the trip.
3. We are planning for a maximum of 65 people on this trip.
4. First priority goes to ATMoB members, MMS members, Stellafane participants, and prior eclipse friends. After January 1st, 2007, all remaining space will be made available to the general public.
5. An extension will be decided in the near future. Please provide your recommendations as to where you would like to visit.
6. As for prior trips, you may transfer your registration to another person with no penalty.
7. I will keep a waiting list to help with any transfers, and will be happy to help arrange roommates, for those traveling alone and desiring to room with someone.
8. I will be available for logistics as before, but (Thank god!) all payments will be made to Twilight Tours.
9. If you decide on this great trip, register with and pay your deposit to Twilight Tours, but please CC me so I may keep a running list of those signing up. And, notify me if you need a roommate.

Looking forward to the next great eclipse!

Mario Motta

Useful links:

• Short ATMoB trip and extension details.
• Twilight Tours' 2-week tour details. Note: This is a separate trip and likely not the one you are on if you've signed up for the ATMoB trip.
• What to expect during the July 22, 2009 Total Solar Eclipse - PDF - 1.3MB, PPT - 2.7MB.
• Details on the July 22, 2009 Total Solar Eclipse.
• Weather prospects for the July 22, 2009 Total Solar Eclipse.
• Eclipse track for Google Earth (from http://xjubier.free.fr/en/site_pages/SolarEclipsesGoogleMaps.html).

NOTE: The Amateur Telescope Makers of Boston, Inc., is not involved with this trip nor receives any financial remuneration. This information is being made available solely for the benefit of ATMoB members.

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