I saw the total solar eclipse

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
1

As I mentioned in this thread, I have tonight returned from China where I saw this year’s total solar eclipse on August 1. Eclipse was awesome.

We watched from an alpine meadow that was fragrant with sage. We’d previously had a really interesting interaction with some rural local folk in a quite remote village, and were looking forward to seeing these people’s reaction to totality, but the Chinese army chased us out. So with less than a half hour to spare, the astronomers and photographers packed up their gear and we found a new observation site in the nick of time.

Details:

The group had originally planned an observation in the Chinese Mongolian province, also known as “Inner Mongolia,” as opposed to the completely different country of Mongolia, AKA “Outer Mongolia.” Our tour leaders had completed mountains of paperwork, and had written approvals to travel there, and all plans were based around that permission. Four days before the eclipse the Chinese government sent a communication that said, basically, “Yes, we know we gave you permission to go there, and you did everything we asked, but we are now withdrawing that permission.”

So the organizers jumped through another set of hoops to get permission to observe near the town of Yiwu. This necessitated a 10-hour bus trip from our base of operations. En route we went through several check points, where passports were checked vs. the approved list. Then at a final check point we were told we couldn’t go further. Negotiations ensued. Officials searched all our luggage, and visually confirmed all passports. Further negotiations granted us permission to proceed a short way to a meadow within view of the checkpoint, where it was estimated we might be able to make clear observations. It was here that we were met with much curiosity from the local people, who did not even speak the same language as our Chinese tour guide. We attempted to explain where we were from and what we were doing there, and distributed some safe eclipse viewing glasses. Astronomers and photographers set up their equipment and we settled in to wait for the grand event.

And then an army officer arrived and said we had to leave. We had already been told by our tour guide that while one might have a discussion with a policeman, do not under any circumstances argue with the soldiers in China. It is illegal even to photograph them.

This was my third eclipse; I saw one in Australia in 2002, another in Libya in 2006. Too bad we didn’t have a cooperative government this year. It’s pretty sad – the Libyan government, a former terrorist state, was more helpful and more cooperative than the government that’s hosting this year’s Olympic games.

I’ll be off to sleep soon, I hope, but if anyone has any questions about the experience or anything related, I hope to be able to respond later.

2

Complete solar eclipses are like crack. I’d have gone through any amount of grief if I was remotely in the vicinity. Plus, being in an exotic locale makes it all the more terrific. I’ve only been to one in Cabo San Lucas, but my buddy who I was with has bought a piece of property on the centerline of the one in ??South Carolina?? in 2017! I’m there! Man, watching the shadow scream across the landscape and then the temperature dropping 30 degrees and the birds chirping because the thought it was dusk was all fucking unbelievable. Also, I soaked up close to 7 minutes of complete solar eclipse in one spot!

3

You’ve got that right. There is another TSE crossing Shanghai in 2009, and one in the south Pacific in 2010. I will NOT be going to Shanghai.

4

Packages to Easter Island for the July 2010 solar eclipse are already being advertised here.

5

Why?

Shanghai, while busy, is a pretty good city.

6

Isn’t next year’s eclipse visible in Hawaii?

7

Did you go there from Kashgar or Urumqi? The people there are Uighurs (not Han Chinese) and IIRC speak a Turkish related language unrelated to Chinese.

Kashgar just had a “riot” although details are sketchy: The attack in Xinjiang province came just four days before the start of the Beijing Olympics _ an event that has put security forces nationwide on alert and that at least one militant Muslim group has vowed to disrupt. Xinhua, citing local police, called it a “suspected terrorist attack.”

Xinhua said the attackers struck at 8 a.m., plowing into the policemen performing their morning exercises outside their paramilitary border patrol post in Kashgar, Xinhua said.

8

No pictures? I’ve only seen one total eclipse in my life (1999, north India), and it was a stunning, surreal moment. The coldness, the silence, the darkness - too much to comprehend. And it was far, far too short.

9

Here’s a must-see video of the eclipse. It’s taken from a small plane, above the clouds, and really captures some of the experience you don’t get from photos. Especially the way the shadow moves through the atmosphere, you can almost feel the moon moving.

10

Because I never want to enter China again.

11

Partial, meaning a relatively small portion of the sun’s disk will be blocked. It will cause a slight dimming of light, maybe not even noticeable to most people. Here’s a Wikipedia link.

12

Soon. I will post a link to the tour organizer’s website, where the best photos will be. I am not a photographer, and it’s tricky to take pics of the eclipse itself.

13

I saw that news event this morning. That location is quite far west from where we were.

We started from Dunhuang, then to Hami, then toward Yiwu. This was not the originally intended itinerary, but as previously mentioned the Chinese government reneged on their permits. At the first place we set up, I believe the locals were Uighurs, and their language was distinct from the Mandarin that our guide used.
One theory as to why we were made to leave is that the army was uncomfortable about our friendly interaction with the local people.

14

Thanks for sharing this experience. Wow, what a hassle and an ordeal. It really illustrates what a cluster ***k China can be.

I was in Cornwall (SW England) for the 1999 eclipse. There was total cloud cover on the day but it was still one of the most amazing experiences I’ve ever had. And yeah, like Darryl Lict said, it is like crack in its addictiveness. July 11, 2010 on Easter Island would be an incredible setting, but out of the budget. I am starting plans and saving money for an eclipse/diving trip to northeast Australia on November 13, 2012. The line of totality passes right over Cairns and the Great Barrier Reef. It should be a lot easier than China.

15

Eclipses are addictive. I saw a partial eclipse in Massachusetts in the early '70s, a total eclipse in Nova Scotia a year or two later, an annular eclipse in my home town five or ten years ago, and I can’t wait until 2017!

16

I promised, and here you are: RESULTS FROM THE AUGUST 1, 2008 TOTAL SOLAR ECLIPSE IN CHINA

17

I was in south Devon for the August 1999 eclipse (nine years ago tomorrow!). Cloud cover thinned just enough to have some idea what was going on, but it was a poor return for thirty years’ wait or mo’biking down from London that morning. Never mind, it was a nice ride and I’d rather have been on two wheels going back than four - the roads back East from Start Point were jammed solid.

18

I saw the 1999 eclipse just north of Metz in France. There was very heavy cloud, but we were on the side of a hill and the clouds were coming from the other side of the hill, so they were dropping their rain there and dispersing! This meant that there was a nice big hole in the cloud cover, through which the eclipse passed. So I saw the eclipse in all its glory.