I took a big risk for the Aug. 12 total solar eclipse — and the reward was glorious
SCORESBY SOUND, Greenland — There's no feeling more exhilarating than waking up inside the imminent path of a total solar eclipse to see a clear blue sky.
It was Wednesday, Aug.
12, and after over two years of planning, I was in the farthest reaches of eastern Greenland's beautiful Scoresby Sound (or Scoresbysund) fjord system aboard the Aurora Expeditions cruise ship the Sylvia Earle.
We were creeping toward Ukattip Kungersiva, also known as Harefjord, in the icy depths of Ofjord.
Up on the observation deck, I scanned the sky for even a slight cloud.
There was not a trace.
I addressed the planet directly: "Are you kidding me?!" I smiled with utter joy, as it had been 1,210 days since my last clear view of the sun's corona — an eternity for an avid eclipse chaser like me.
Clouds had thwarted my previous eclipse chase in Texas for the 2024 total solar eclipse, which was followed by almost two-and-a-half years without a total solar eclipse.
Today, 117 eclipse chasers on the expedition were depending on the decisions made by a few of us on the ship — the ship's captain, the expedition leader (and noted Arctic adventurer) Greg Mortimer and I.
We had taken a risk to position the ship in a glorious location — the confluence of four fjord channels, with icebergs passing below ice-capped mountains — and, it seemed, in good weather — and we were also almost bang on the centerline of the path, where the sun would be blocked by the moon for 2 minutes, 16 seconds.
That was just two seconds off the maximum possible totality anywhere on Earth.
We were asking Mother Nature for everything on offer, but there were zero guarantees, aside from the moon's dark shadow enveloping us and cutting the light.
The day before, we'd surveyed the aptly named Sol Glacier, a wall of ice on the shores of Scoresby Sund.
The sound of thousands of tons of ice calving into the sea will stay with me forever, but I had the prospect of something else even more dramatic on my mind.
5News aggregated this summary from the outlet’s public feed. The full article, with all the context, is on www.livescience.com — the content belongs to Live Science.
