The Skies and the Sea – Destinations for Unforgettable Skywatching

by JonathanNo Comments
This post contains a few of the summary slides from my presentation at the Luxury Travel Club meeting in Greensboro, NC on July 15, 2026. Stargazing tips: Try to avoid periods around the full moon. High latitudes (far north and far south) will not get dark skies during the local summertime. (You won't see stars in northern Norway in July.) The Southern Cross is briefly visible from Hawaii or Key West southward. The farther south you go, the longer it stays in the sky. It is above the horizon all night south of latitude 35°S (Adelaide, Santiago, Buenos Aires, Cape Town). Best evening viewing of the Southern Cross is from March through August.  The Milky Way galactic core is best seen from south of the equator. It is high in the southern evening sky from June to September. Eclipse chasing tips: For solar eclipses, you must travel to be inside the path of totality. Check a detailed map and try to get as close to the centerline as possible. Dedicated eclipse chasers plan years in...
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My Second Eclipse

My Second Eclipse

by Jonathan Comment Closed
As I noted in a recent blog entry, I witnessed a total solar eclipse in 1970 when I was thirteen years old. After that eclipse ended, I recall looking up the date of the next total eclipse in the eastern US. Monday, August 21, 2017. Wow, that seemed impossibly far in the future. I would never be here for that. But 2017 finally came around. Dad Sweats the Plans My excitement level began to rise over the summer. I originally planned to play it by ear on eclipse day. As the media began to forecast potentially millions of people traveling to see the eclipse, I realized the safest bet would be to book two hotel rooms in the middle of the path of totality in South Carolina. That would get us into position the night before the eclipse and enable us to drive either northwest or southeast to seek better weather if need be. I booked two rooms at the Hampton Inn in...
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Witnessing the Total Solar Eclipse of March 7, 1970

by Jonathan1 Comment
With the levels of hype and anticipation rapidly growing for next month's Eclipse Across America (or whatever people are calling it now), I have been reflecting on when I witnessed a total solar eclipse back in 1970 as a 13-year-old. I was an 8th grade student at Walt Whitman Intermediate School in the Mt. Vernon area south of Alexandria, Virginia. I was deeply interested in all things space and astronomical. I had received a toy-store 3" reflector telescope for my birthday in 1968, and I quickly outgrew its capabilities. My parents gave me a 4-1/2" Tasco reflector telescope for Christmas in 1969. As a subscriber to Sky and Telescope magazine, I knew full well that the path of a total solar eclipse would be skirting the East Coast of the United States on March 7, 1970. Our home was about 200 miles away from the path of totality. We'd see a very nice partial eclipse with only a thin sliver of the sun...
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