From July 18 through August 2, 2008, Astronomy magazine had the pleasure of hosting a total eclipse expedition — along with MWT Associates — to visit Russia and witness the August 1 total solar eclipse. It was great fun, made so largely by the fantastic organization and energy of Melita Thorpe, president of MWT. I accompanied Senior Editor Rich Talcott, our readers, and travelers from Chicago's Adler Planetarium and the Astronomical Society of the Pacific.
What a fabulous time we had! The excursion carried us from Moscow on a cruise to St. Petersburg along the Volga River and Europe's two biggest lakes, Onega and Ladoga. We visited many churches and Russian Orthodox icons, toured the amazing treasures in the Moscow Kremlin and St. Petersburg's Hermitage State Museum, and were stunned over the beauty of the Tsarist palaces of Catherine and Peterhof. And we saw a perfect total eclipse in a bright blue sky that had been largely cloudy the day before and after. Clearly, we did something right.
For those who could not come along with us but may be looking to join us on our eclipse trip to China next year, I present a short gallery of images from this year's trip.