Australia: The Great Dreamtime Total Eclipse

Join Astronomy magazine Editor Dave Eicher, Senior Editor Rich Talcott, and MWT Associates on a trip Down Under to watch the November 14, 2012, total solar eclipse.

Baily's beads from the 2008 total solar eclipse

Photo by Tunc Tezel

Sydney Harbor

Photo by Rodney Haywood

Ayers Rock

Photo by Wikimedia Commons

The biggest observational event of the year occurs Wednesday, November 14, when a total eclipse of the Sun washes over Australia and the South Pacific and bathe the inhabited parts (northeastern Australia) with almost exactly 2 minutes of totality. Thousands of eclipse chasers are now going to the region. Among those travelers are Editor David J. Eicher and Senior Editor Richard Talcott, who are leading tours in partnership with Melita Thorpe of MWT Associates.

Some 200 readers will join Eicher and Talcott for a 13-day trek that will carry them around the land Down Under. The magazine’s trip will begin at Darwin and include days of adventure and exploration as well as astronomy. The group will hike through Kakadu National Park World Heritage Site, take the fancy Ghan train south to Alice Springs, explore and observe at Ayers Rock, walk through aboriginal sites at Kata Tjuta and Walpa Gorge, discover Sydney and its magnificent harbor, snorkel and scuba in the Great Barrier Reef, cruise on the Daintree River, wander through rain forests and across beaches, and set off on a crocodile adventure.

The trip also will feature talks by three astronomers: SETI’s Seth Shostak on sending signals into space, Bill Sheehan on the eclipse itself, and Eicher on the latest developments in astronomy, planetary science, and cosmology. Some other friends and Astronomy contributors will be along too, including David Levy and Dennis Mammana.

The group will end up at Cairns (pronounced “cans”), where they'll explore the area and witness the eclipse from Green Island, just off the coast.

Read all of Editor David J. Eicher's blogs from the trip at www.Astronomy.com/davesuniverse.

Australian Dreamtime Eclipse photo gallery, by David J. Eicher