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 Total Solar Eclipse of 2003 November 23-24
 Dronning Maud Land, Antarctica

To observe the total solar eclipse on November 23-24, 2003, the first one to be witnessed in Antarctica in the history of mankind, I went first to Cape Town in South Africa to take a special Ilyushin IL-76TD flight to the russian station of Novolazarevskaya. The weather was perfect on eclipse day: the sky was blue and clear, the temperature in this beginning of the austral summer around -25°C (-13°F). However turbulences caused by the various atmospheric layers made the observations, at high magnification, difficult just over the ice-capped horizon.
It is worth to mention that, a few days before the eclipse, a huge storm with katabatic winds blowing at over 150 km/h (95 mph) swept accross the Dronning Maud Land area; moreover another storm came in the second day after the eclipse.
The two main focus of this eclipse were that it was just after the midnight Sun and in a truly magical surroundings. For the 2008 February 7 annular solar eclipse I will be back in Antarctica and try to view it from its high point, Mount Vinson at 4,897 m (16,067 ft).

You can use this solar eclipse calculator to compute the local circumstances of the eclipse. The time exposure calculator is there to help you choose your camera settings. With the windchill calculator you can estimate the real temperature.

Click on thumbnails for a larger version
Page 1 |  Page 2 |  Page 3 "Eclipse" |  Page 4 |  Page "Google Map" |  This is page "Elevation Profile"

One of my worries for this eclipse was that because of the terrain elevation increase to the south the whole solar disk and corona might not be visible. I was convinced at the time that the selected location wasn’t far enough south or that the ground elevation wasn’t high enough to have a completely unobstructed view. Observations later proved I was right, which supported my decision to break from the group and hike south with my photography gear.
The elevation profile study shown below and done with the latest revision of my interactive mapping tools, clearly depicts the dilemma. The atmospheric refraction and terrain elevation are both taken into account. One can easily see that the ridge located eight kilometers to the south is blocking part of the view and that there is a perfect match between the picture and the elevation profile computations (Δmin of one tenth of a degree, angular elevation between the ice and the bottom of the Sun, is indeed correct).

2003 Total Solar Eclipse Elevation Profile Maximum
Elevation profile simulation in the maximum eclipse’s line of sight

The distant Petermann Range (Wohlthat Mountains) were in the line of sight but hidden by the ridge eight kilometers to the south.

Petermann Range Wohlthat Mountains
Petermann Range
(Wohlthat Mountains)

Petermann Range Wohlthat Mountains
Petermann Range
(Wohlthat Mountains)

Wohlthat Mountains
Wohlthat Mounts mountains


Wohlthat Mountains
Wohlthat Mounts mountains


Page 1 |  Page 2 |  Page 3 "Eclipse" |  Page 4 |  Page "Google Map" |  This is page "Elevation Profile"

Last page update on January 20, 2011.
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