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 Total Solar Eclipse of 2021 December 4
 in Antarctica from the icecap, an eclipse flight or cruise

The point of greatest eclipse (totality phase during 1 min 54 sec) lies just at the edge of the Antarctic continent, just north of the Filchner-Ronne Ice Shelf. This eclipse is the next in Saros after the historic total on 2003 November 23 near Novolazarevskaya, one of the Russian research stations in Antarctica.
Antarctica and the entire Southern Ocean are renowned for wild weather and the most important factor in witnessing a solar eclipse is of course clear skies. So I’ll propose three options: first for about 38,000€, an aircraft will fly you straight from Punta Arenas in southern Chile, or Ushuaia in Argentina, to Union Glacier in Antarctica from where the eclipse can be observed; second an exclusive eclipse flight (10,000 to 28,000€) with marvelous sightseeing and third an eclipse cruise on an expedition yacht (21,000 to 78,000€).

You can use this solar eclipse calculator to compute the local circumstances of the eclipse, and the solar eclipse timer notifies the beginning of the various events. A time exposure calculator is there to help you choose your camera settings.


Click on thumbnails for a larger version

 
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Viewing this eclipse from the icecap is doable in the very same way as it was done in November 2003. To achieve this one needs to first fly to Union Glacier and its blue ice runway; every year during the austral summer the base is open and is the starting point of expeditions to the summit of Antarctica, Mount Vinson, to the South Pole or else the Emperor penguins colonies.
The weather prospects are usually quite good in December, and often far better than for the cruises in the Scotia Sea. However mobility is limited for large groups and landing in Union Glacier is subject to good enough weather which means you usually need to arrive several days in advance as you don’t want to miss the eclipse.
Lodging is inside double-wall tents.

Union Glacier Camp Antarctica
Union Glacier camp in Antarctica

The eclipse can be viewed directly from the camp. The panorama below was taken shortly before the time of totality.

Panorama Union Glacier Camp 2017 December 4 Eclipse Antarctica
180-degree panorama from the Union Glacier camp shortly before totality time on 2017 December 4

Union Glacier Map Antarctica
Map of Union Glacier in Antarctica

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Last page update on May 10, 2015.
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