I have been chasing total eclipses since my first, March 7, 1970, in a small village near Oaxaca Mexico. I’ve been leading eclipse trips for over 20 years.
San Miguel Suchixtepec, Oaxaca, 1970
It is impossible to explain how spectacular and moving a total eclipse of the sun is to someone who hasn’t seen it. It is eerie, and very strange. Many people are moved to tears. A larger number scream, shout, and celebrate. The sky will darken and people in the correct location will see an unearthly silver and pink glow as silver streamers of the sun’s corona stretch across the sky, and pink “flames” – prominences – come from its edge. The sun is so bright that even a 99% eclipse does NOT show the wonderful view; you must see a total eclipse sometime in your life!
No camera can capture the beauty that you eye sees, but the audio of this video captures people’s responses…Video (16 MB, .mpg). Actually this video was edited for use on TV. The original is even more dramatic, but R-rated for language!
Even animals freak out during a total eclipse!
The whales and dolphins you see in the video all surfaced just before the total eclipse! Animals almost always react to a total eclipse in amazing ways.
Join one of my trips and see a total eclipse sometime in your life!
1998 Galapagos
Here are a few photos:
For the 2012 partial eclipse I got the CU Football stadium filled with 10,000 people!
2017 The Great American Eclipse!
2024 Eclipse: Totality over Texas
During a total eclipse you will probably lose track of time! I did at my first eclipse, and it was too dark to see my watch! Fortunately I’d tape recorded a countdown. Now there is a great little app so that you can know exactly when totality starts and ends. I recommend it to you. 