The EYE ON THE SKY® AstroCruises TM 2006 Eclipse Cruise Page

edited by Dan Benedict


Photo
Animation
Animated map courtesy of Andrew Sinclair



The 2006 Total Eclipse of the Sun

On March 29, 2006, there will be a total eclipse of the sun beginning at sunrise in Brazil, crossing the Atlantic Ocean, Africa (Ivory Coast, Ghana, Togo, Benin, Nigeria, Niger, Chad, Libya, Egypt), the Meriterranean Sea, Turkey, the Black and Caspian Seas, and countries of the former Soviet Union (Georgia, Russia, Kazakhstan) before ending at sunset in Mongolia and Siberia. While a partial eclipse will be visible over a wide area (as seen in the graphic above), totality at any one spot will last at most 4 minutes 7 seconds.

Eye on the Sky® AstroCruises will be providing astronomy services for Holland America Line's eclipse segment of their 2006 world cruise aboard Prinsendam, rated 4+ stars by Berlitz Ocean Cruising and Cruise Ships. We will encounter the eclipse at about 1:15 p.m. local time between Antalya, Turkey, and Iraklio, Crete, (Environment Canada meteorologist Jay Anderson rates the probability of seeing the eclipse at these two cities as his highest in Europe, and the ship has the advantage of being able to relocate to a clear-sky location). Duration of totality is about 3 minutes 48 seconds, the best until the Western Pacific/East China Sea solar eclipse of July 22, 2009. Here is the itinerary for our cruise:

Day Date Port Arrive Depart
Thu Mar 16 MUMBAI    
Fri Mar 17 Mumbai   5:00 pm
Sat Mar 18 At Sea (Arabian Sea)    
Sun Mar 19 At Sea    
Mon Mar 20 At Sea (Gulf of Aden)    
Tue Mar 21 At Sea (Red Sea)    
Wed Mar 22 At Sea    
Thu Mar 23 At Sea    
Fri Mar 24 Sharm el Sheik, Egypt 6:00 am 2:00 pm
Sat Mar 25 Suez, Egypt
daylight transit Suez Canal 		1:00am 8:00 pm
Sun Mar 26 Alexandria, Egypt 6:00 am 10:00pm
Mon Mar 27 At Sea (Mediterranean Sea)    
Tue Mar 28 Antalya, Turkey 8:00 am 8:00pm
Wed Mar 29 At Sea
Total Solar Eclipse 		   
Thu Mar 30 Iraklio, Crete, Greece 7:00 am 8:00 pm
Fri Mar 31 At Sea    
Sat Apr 1 Benghazi, Libya 8:00 am 6:00 pm
Sun Apr 2 At Sea (Mediterranean Sea)    
Mon Apr 3 Tripoli, Libya 7:00 am 6:00pm
Tue Apr 4 Catania, Sicily, Italy noon 6:00 pm
Wed Apr 5 Naples, Italy 8:00 am 7:00 pm
Thu Apr 6 CIVITAVECCHIA, ITALY 6:00 am  

Updated information on prices, itinerary and programs will be found on this Web site (astrocruises.com/eclipse2006.html), and you can write us at eyeonthesky@compuserve.com . Previous AstroCruises have viewed the Leonid Meteor Storm in 2001 and Venus Transit in 2004.

Watch this space for exciting news about an AstroCruises (TM) Total Eclipse Cruise in March of 2006.


General Eclipse Information

Solar Eclipses for Beginners by Fred Espenak

The Experience of Totality by Mark Littmann, Ken Willcox and Fred Espenak

Eclipse information from International Astronomical Union's Commission 46


Maps of the 2006 Eclipse

High-resolution eclipse map from the U. S. Naval Observatory (1.3 megabyte PDF file)

Detailed maps from Turkish astronomer Tunc Tezel

Detailed maps from Ian Cameron Smith of areas along the eclipse track

Detailed maps from Sheridan Williams of areas along the eclipse track


Eclipse Cloud Cover Prospects from Jay Anderson, Environment Canada

March mean daytime cloud cover map

Other climate data


Other Information

Eclipse prediction table by Fred Espenak

The Eclipse in Turkey from Bogazici University, Kandilli Observatory and E. R. I. Astronomy Laboratory

The Saga of Launching the World's First Eclipse Cruise by Ted Pedas


Copyright 2004 EYE ON THE SKY® News Service. All rights reserved.
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URL of this page: http://www.astrocruises.com/eclipse2006.html
E-mail for details: eyeonthesky@compuserve.com
Phone: (609) 530-9877
Last update: 16 March 2005

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