Eclipse Edge Expeditions
'The sun's rim dips; the stars rush out' -- Samuel Taylor Coleridge
The Blue Mosque of Istanbul below a partial eclipse. Photo from Istanbul newspaper Aksam, 12 August, 1999.
What's So Special About a Total Eclipse of the Sun?
Why Observe a Total Solar Eclipse From the Path Edge Rather Than the Centerline?
Eclipse Edge mounts expeditions to unusual and spectacular astronomical events. Our solar eclipse expeditions are carefully planned around viewing from the eclipse path edge for maximum effect (hence our name). Expedition participants include professional and amateur astronomers as well as individuals simply interested in experiencing these rare and beautiful events first hand.
Details for future expeditions are still in the planning stages. Results from the December 2002 expedition to South Australia are now available. Eclipse Edge Expeditions is 6 for 6 in taking its participants to clear-sky views where the eclipse phenomena are most spectacular.
A meteor storm could be the only astronomical event in our lifetime capable of exceeding the spectacle of a total solar eclipse. However meteor storms are considerably rarer than eclipses and, until recently, impossible to predict. Prediction successes in each year from 1999-2004 have shown that situation has reversed. The 2002 event might have been the last meteor storm until the Perseids event of 2028. However, meteor outburst events will happen from time to time, and our ability to predict these too is continually improving. Watch for announcements here as predictions become available.
See for example the prediction and results for the August 2004 Perseids outburst
How to Contact Us:
Eclipse Edge Expeditions
PO Box XXXX
Sequim WA 98382-5040
Fax: XXX/XXX-XXXX
Recorded Info:
800/XXX-edge
800/XXX-3343
Travel & Accommodations:
(Expeditions Are Temporarily Suspended)
Astronomy Questions:
The scientific coordinator of our expeditions is astronomer Tom Van Flandern. His book, Dark Matter, Missing Planets and New Comets, contains one chapter about eclipse viewing.
Extra attention to details and contingency plans are reasons why Eclipse Edge Expeditions has not had a failed eclipse expedition. Full trip reports are available for all our our past expeditions. A possible future expedition in 2006 to Egypt or Turkey will be considered if the world situation changes so that travel becomes safer.
Eclipse Edge Expeditions is a subsidiary of Meta Research, Inc, a non-profit astronomy research organization based in Washington, DC.