Only sky watchers within this arc –
typically 10,000 miles long and just 100
miles wide – experience a total eclipse.
People near it see a partial solar eclipse
in which not all of the sun is blotted out.
Those farther away see nothing at all.
Seeing a solar eclipse can be an
unforgettable experience, but experts
urge caution. Looking directly at the sun
through a telescope or binoculars (or even
the naked eye) can cause eye damage and
even permanent blindness.
A total eclipse begins as a barely
perceptible nibble out of the sun. Over
the next hour or so this blemish widens
and eventually consumes the sun, turning
day to night. This state, called totality, can
last as long as seven and a half minutes.
The Total Solar Eclipse
– What we should see
(weather permitting):
During totality, the only visible part of
the sun is its corona, the normally unseen
outer atmosphere that shimmers in
the darkness like a fiery ring. When the
sun begins to reappear, there is often
a sparkling glow in one spot along the
corona that creates what’s known as the
diamond ring effect.
Eclipses happen only during the new
moon phase, when the moon moves to
the side of earth facing the sun. However,
because the moon orbits earth at a
slight angle, the three bodies will only
periodically line up on the same plane to
create an eclipse.
Interestingly, total eclipses are only
possible on earth because of a fortuitous
coincidence: The moon’s diameter and
distance from earth make its relative size
just big enough to cover the sun. If the
moon were any smaller or farther away,
we would only see partial eclipses. In
fact, in a billion years or so, the moon will
have drifted so far from earth that solar
eclipses will no longer occur.
Remember that it is imperative that the
eclipse spectacles provided are worn at
all times when looking at the sun, except
for the two minutes+ of totality.
The eclipse will occur at 09.09 Universal
Time on 20th March. Some two hours
beforehand, the Moon will start to’
nibble’ at the sun’s disc and the nibble
will get bigger and bigger. Just before the
eclipse we should see the moon’s shadow
rushing across the sea at a speed of 1056
miles per hour.
This unique opportunity to hopefully
admire the black sky and marvel at the
planets including Mercury is a wondrous
sight. The ‘Solar Corona’, with its two
million degree gas, will appear, with,
hopefully, striations due to the sun’s
magnetic fields. Loops of hot gas should
be seen. Then, just two minutes later, the
glasses must be replaced and the next
two hours will be an inverse of the first
two. We suggest that you don’t spend
time trying to capture totality on your
camera, but you enjoy this spectacular
natural wonder instead.
WELCOME TO THE AMAZING
SOLAR ECLIPSE
CRUISE
The total eclipse of the sun is one of nature’s most
spectacular events that, for a brief period of time,
unveils the sun’s beautiful corona. Having captured
the imagination of people around the world for
centuries and it has been recorded as an important
event for millennia. References have been found in
some of our earliest texts, including ancient Chinese
academic documents and even a line from Homer’s
Odyssey that declares “The sun is blotted from
the heavens.”
It’s easy to imagine how our earliest ancestors must
have reacted to the sudden disappearance of the
sun, and over time the phenomenon has been seen
as both fascinating and terrifying, a signal of the
displeasure of the gods, or an omen of bad things
to come. These rare, mesmerizing sky shows result
when the moon aligns between the earth and the
sun, blocking the sun’s light and casting a shadow
on our planet. As earth spins, this shadow races at
some 1,400 miles an hour along a line called the path
of totality.
THIS CRUISE SHOULD ALSO ALLOW YOU THE OPPORTUNITY TO
EXPERIENCE ANOTHER
NATURAL PHENOMENON
Northern Lights
In General
The Aurora Borealis (Northern Lights) occur when highly charged
electrons from the solar wind interact with elements in the earth’s
atmosphere. Solar winds stream away from the sun at speeds of
approximately one million miles per hour.
The particles meet the outermost part of the atmosphere at a height of
80 to 130 km above the Earth’s surface, and the energy is discharged in
a process identical to that which occurs inside a light tube. This is visible
on the Earth’s surface as flickering, moving light.
When they reach earth some 40 hours after leaving the sun they follow
the lines of magnetic force generated by the earth’s core and flow
through the magnetosphere, a teardrop-shaped area of highly charged
electrical and magnetic fields. The auroras generally occur along the
“auroral ovals”, which centre on the magnetic poles (not the geographic
poles) and roughly correspond with the Arctic and Antarctic circles.
Most outbreaks of the Northern Lights are green, but once in a while
we can see tinges of pink or white around the edges. An even rarer
occurrence is violet in the centre. The Northern Lights can sometimes
have blue-green tinges or on other occasions the colour is closer to a
mixture of green and yellow. Red Northern Lights are extremely rare.
However, this does occur when the Northern Lights break out at a
higher or lower height than normal.
Throughout your cruise there will be lots of interesting lectures
surrounding the northern lights, please see the daily times for details.
Viewing the Northern Lights:
■
The Northern Lights zone is a circle around
■
the Magnetic North Pole, so once in the
Arctic Circle the chances of seeing the
Northern Lights increases. Tromsø and Alta
both lie within this zone.
■
Northern Lights oval: Given Tromsø and
Alta’s geographic locations, the auroral oval
is virtually always directly above.
■
Stable climate: Alta and Tromsø have
extremely stable climates. In winter
the days are normally cold and the sky
cloudless – and clear skies are essential for
spotting the Northern Lights.
■
eography: However, if the weather
G
is overcast, the chances of finding the
Northern Lights still remain good. Our
evening tours take you away from light
pollution of the city for the best chance
to see the Aurora.
The Aurora Borealis, like the Solar Eclipse,
is a natural phenomenon and there is
absolutely no guarantee that it will be
seen during our cruise.