Total Solar Eclipses

There is nothing else like it.
As the Moon slowly slides over the face of the Sun the light around you dims and takes on an eerie glow.
But everything changes suddenly in the few seconds of sunlight.
A darkness appears in the distance and races toward you.
Within seconds, the darkness overtakes you, darkening the land and sky.
A valley on the Moon's edge yields a final blaze of sunlight.
A fiery last gasp as the Sun is suddenly extinguished.
The world turns upside down.
Day turns to night as stars appear above you while the horizon in every direction still glows with sunlight.
A black hole in the sky appears where the Sun had been, surrounded by the corona's mysterious glow.
Nothing makes sense; everything is unfamiliar.  Awe, excitement and even fear overcome you.
And then the edge of the darkness rushes toward you and the world again reverses.
The Sun announces its return with another brilliant flash, the corona disappears, the stars go back into hiding.
And day returns.
You want just a few more minutes in the Moon's shadow but it races on to another country and  more waiting people.
You share what you've experienced with friends and strangers, and start planning for the next eclipse.
Because there is nothing else like it.

Scroll down to see our eclipse adventures.

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Updated April 30, 2005