This email is for all PAS members who are interested in experiencing the total
solar eclipse of August 21, 2017. I wish to remind you that Alex and I did some
research on the subject and the results are in our September 2015 newsletter
PAStimes at page 6. You can download this from our PAS website. At our
September 1, 2016, PAS meeting Alex and I will present our final
data on the weather analyses, and we should discuss as a group the possible
travel, housing, camping or other issues which are vital to a successful and
pleasant experience.
PAS hasn't made any official decisions yet as to whether our club will have an
official tour or just let the members decide on their own how they wish to
enjoy the eclipse. Some members may want to carpool, some may want to go on an
official commercial tour, some may want to go on their own to a place near
friends or relatives.
Today, I am forwarding an email to all of you from one of our PAS members, Ted
Blank. He spoke to our club a few months ago on Occultations. As can be seen
from the message below, he will be going to Grand Island, Nebraska, with an
official total eclipse tour. Ted is an active member of PAS and I invite
everyone to read what he has to say. Paul Maley, who will be heading up the
expedition, also sent an email with details about the trip, see the message
below Ted's.
Feel free to contact Ted (tedblank@xxxxxxxxx) and/or Paul (pdmaley@xxxxxxxxx),
if you have any questions. This expedition is not a PAS event but anyone is
free to
go on the trip if they so desire.
I must remind PAS members that as we get closer to the August 21, 2017, total
eclipse date, hotels and trips are starting to fill up. If you are thinking of
flying and driving on your own and camping or sleeping in your own RV or back
of your vehicle, then waiting until our Sept 1, 2016 PAS meeting should be ok.
If you want to go on an official commercial tour with fine accommodations and
meals and scientific speakers, you may want to look into Ted and Paul's
expedition.
There are also other groups with expeditions, such as the Astronomical League,
Sky and Telescope, and others.
You should check out several of these commercial tours, and see if they are in
a city you would like to visit. However, having tried twice before to see a
total solar eclipse and being clouded out both times, I can tell you the
weather history of the place is of utmost importance, along with escape routes
to go East or West within 24 hours of totality in case bad weather is moving
in. Best wishes to everyone. Sam Insana President of the Phoenix Astronomical
Society.
-----Original Message-----
From: Ted Blank <tedblank@xxxxxxxxx>
To: insanas Insana <insanas@xxxxxxx>
Sent: Tue, May 24, 2016 5:44 am
Subject: Eclipse expedition
Hi Sam,
As I mentioned in my earlier note, my IOTA occultation friend Paul Maley has
invited me to be a group leader for the upcoming total solar eclipse in 2017.
There's no financial remuneration involved for me, other than my hotel expenses
being covered. (I have to get myself to Nebraska like everyone else.)
Paul, who recently moved to Carefree, AZ, is one of the most active occultation
observers in the world, having just returned from Bolivia to attempt an
occultation down there. He heads up Ring of Fire Expeditions, the
longest-running astronomical tour organization in the United States. They have
specialized in astro-tourism since 1970 with expeditions organized to view
solar eclipses, Halley’s Comet, the Leonid meteor shower, transit of Venus,
spacecraft reentries, grazing occultations, and occultations of stars by minor
planets.
Since I'd love to have friends from the club come along I wanted to inquire
about posting a note to the mailing list to let members know about the
expedition. For people who have not yet made plans to observe the eclipse, I
feel this would be a great opportunity to have someone with long experience
arrange hotel, pre-eclipse local tours, and day-of-eclipse backup bus travel in
case of clouds at quite reasonable cost. I'm certainly happy to have someone
else handling the logistics. I'll be among those offering talks on eclipses
and astronomy during the days leading up to the eclipse.
The link below has details of the itinerary. Of course I'll understand if the
board does not feel this to be an appropriate use of the mailing list. One
must conservative in these matters.
Thanks,
Ted
Details are as follows:
Ring of Fire Expeditions (ROFE) is now ready to launch their 47th solar eclipse
expedition, this time to the state of Nebraska to see the August 21, 2017
"Great American" total solar eclipse! This is the first total eclipse in the
USA in 38 years and that it is an incredibly rare opportunity. For those of
you who don’t chase eclipses around the world, this may be your only chance to
observe one of the most amazing spectacles nature has to offer. The observing
location will be at a site in Nebraska offering just 6 seconds less than the
maximum eclipse possible along the track.
ROFE wants to give local amateurs the first opportunity to join. This will be
the least expensive eclipse trip since 1991, with prices starting at $999
(excluding your travel to and from Nebraska). Details and registration can be
found at the following link:
http://www.eclipsetours.com/upcoming-tours/2017-total-eclipse-sun-usa/
Registrations will be taken in the order received, first come, first served.
ONE REGISTRATION FORM FOR EACH PERSON. They are happy to have as many of you
as possible.
Future Travel in Houston, Texas is handling the details and is accepting
payments through the electronic bank transfer system which has proven to be
much safer and quicker. No physical checks are required and no need for you or
Future Travel to worry about mail delays. The electronic bank transfer debits
money directly from your checking account. Credit card payments are still being
charged at a rate 5% higher and so you do save money going through the
electronic bank payment.
Please remember that you have to submit both the registration form AND deposit
for each person in order to be confirmed.
There will be a limited number of single rooms available. From now until
August 21, 2016 the “early bird prices” will be in effect. After that they
will be raised based on the limited space that Future Travel has been able to
secure. Because we have other competing travel agencies monitoring our web
page, the name of the hotel will be kept confidential for now and released
later on to all who have signed up.
This year on the dates of next year's eclipse, expedition leader Paul Maley
will also be conducting a site survey in Nebraska to identify potential eclipse
viewing locations for next year.
We hope that everyone will have an outstanding eclipse experience! If you have
any questions, kindly contact Paul at the email address below.
With best regards,
Paul
Paul D. Maley
Expedition Coordinator for NASA Johnson Space Center Astronomical Society,
Houston, Texas USA (now living in Carefree, Arizona)
Paul D. Maley email: eclipse@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
