Eclipse 98

1998 Feb 26


I can only echo what others have said: WOW!

Curacao was a great place to spend a week, and the organizers had a great set-up at Westpund: a huge wind-break, plenty of awnings for shade, drinks and box lunches, and weather that went from pleasantly cloudy in the morning to wonderfully clear by noon. The 3'30" of eclipse went quickly, with the sight of Venus, Jupiter and Mercury arrayed around the sun evoking the images from 2001 (no music though!). What a sight!

We also spent a couple of nights stargazing, though as Bill said the transparency sucked, and on Curacao there was light pollution from Willemstad to the south. I enjoyed learning some southern constellations, and can find the bright nebula & clusters easily now. Practice for a future trip!

The Calgary Science Center did a great job organizing our trip. They are going to Turkey next year, and the planning for that trip looks great too: modern hotel, river for swimming, and old Turkisk ruins for shade during the eclipse. We will not be going (too far to take the toddler, also have spent too much on this trip!), but I reccommend the Calgary group to everyone!

Oh well, Back to work!


Bruce Prickett 1998 Mar 2