On Saturday, I’ll head to Kenya with a group of about 30 Astronomy readers to experience the January 15, 2010, annular solar eclipse. The eclipse will last an amazing 8 minutes, 25 seconds. Our tour partner, and its superbly organized leader, is Melita Thorpe of MWT Associates. I’ll travel along to cover the event for the magazine and to speak to the group, and noted astroimager Dennis Mammana will be along with us, too.
Aside from the eclipse, the journey (which lasts from January 9 through the 21st) will consist of a safari at three significant locations. We’ll start at the Norfolk Hotel at Nairobi (where Teddy Roosevelt began his safaris) and venture for several days each to Samburu, Lake Nakuru, and to what some call the best game reserve in Africa, the Masai Mara. Here there will be more than 60 species, including the “big five” — lions, leopards, elephants, black rhinos, and water buffalo.
Watch a video preview of the trip.
Be assured that I will take scads of photos and movies, too, and will be blogging as best I can. I don’t yet know about the connectivity in the field, but I’ll send reports from Nairobi and I hope from elsewhere, too. At worst case, by the time I get back I will have substantial reports on the trip posted on our web site. And I hope to be tweeting (@AstronomyMag) from the African trip, too. Stay tuned for more details. See you in the bush! Jambo!
Photo credit: Dennis Mammana