I was able to observe the eclipse from Curacao (clear skies), despite drizzle in the morning & same in evening. It was the _clearest_ afternoon, my week here. Previous days had fast moving cumulus, the worst being the afternoon before. It looked REAL BAD that morning. I had plastic bags over my equipjent to protect from the rain.
I've uploaded images at:
http://www.comet-track.com/eclipse/secl98/secl98.html
There is amazing structure in the corona.. Here are some notable features of this eclipse:
- you imediately noticed the 2 bright planets, Mercury & Jupiter nearby
- there was a VERY noticeable prominence near 2nd contact (reminded me of the '91 eclipse)
I found myself an iosolated spot, but had to do some heavy hauling up/down a steep hill to get to my site (250 lbs of gear, groan..). I did some gnarly off-roading in my compact car, and actually got high-centered (i.e. stuck) on a rock. I couldn't find the owner to let me out of the gated property!! Then, I got lost on the way to the photo lab (3-times), hard to navigate unfamiliar roads at night.