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SOLD
OUT!
- Call us about our 2009 trip!
Come
join Spears Travel and astrophysicist, Fred
Espenak,
on another fantastic total eclipse trip tour.
We
have updated our itinerary to enhance your eclipse experience
in CHINA
Check out all the details - We would love to have you join us!
Spears Travel has been doing eclipse trips since 1991. We have
traveled with groups throughout the world and have had some majestic
adventures with long lasting memories. We will make sure that
every detail is taken care of so you don't have to!
See
pictures and read about our
Site Trip to Northern China
There are
days until the 2008 Total Solar Eclipse! Are you ready?
Interested
in a pre or post trip?
Tibet
Pre Tours
-or-
Mongolia
Post Tours
Fred
Espenak (Mr. Eclipse, MrEclipse.com)is
our astronomy consultant and he will be
joining everyone on the Northern
China trip.
A
NEW Letter from Fred Espenak:
(Nov. 2007)
Greetings Eclipse
Aficionados!
We learned a lot
on our recent site inspection trip to China (August 2007). For
one thing, the 2008 Olympics are making air connections through
Beijing a nightmare. For another, the Olympics are triggering
price increases throughout the country, especially in Beijing.
Finally, the local government in the Hami/Yiwu region is preparing
for the big influx of eclipse tourists by limiting access to the
area and by designating an official eclipse viewing site. All
eclipse groups will be confined to this one crowded viewing location.
For these reasons,
we needed to make some major changes to our original itinerary.
You'll notice that we now fly in and out of Shanghai instead of
Beijing. We also worked hard to find an alternate eclipse viewing
site that still benefits from the excellent weather prospects
in northern China. Our new eclipse site still offers nearly 2
minutes of totality. It even allows us to stay at the same beautiful
hotel for three consecutive nights. That is quite a luxury in
and of itself.
We even managed
to squeeze in more time for additional sight-seeing in Xian, home
of the legendary terracotta warriors. Please check our new itinerary
and join us for what promises to be a fantastic eclipse experience!
- Fred Espenak,
(Nov. 2007)
A Note from Fred
Espenak:
On August 01, 2008,
a total eclipse of the Sun will be visible from a narrow path
that stretches from northern Canada and Greenland, to central
Russia, Mongolia, and China. With so many wonderful locations
to choose from, selecting a destination for our 2008 eclipse expedition
has been particularly difficult. Our final decision to pick China
over Russia and Mongolia was arrived at based on climate data
for Asia.
Northwestern China is noteworthy because it offers some of
the most promising weather prospects along the entire eclipse
path. Its position between the Gobi Desert to the east and the
Talikmakan Desert to the west spares it from the monsoon systems
that affect much of Southeast Asia during the summer months. The
prospect for clear sky in this region during the eclipse is over
70%. That's nearly as good as the weather prospects for the 2006
eclipse in Libya. In comparison, the eclipse path in western Mongolia
passes through a mountainous area that reduces the probability
to 50%.Russia fares a little better with a 60% chance of clear
sky near Novosibirsk.
Our eclipse site in northern China offers a central line
duration of 1 minute 54 seconds with the Sun 17° above the
western horizon. This low Sun altitude presents a great opportunity
to capture the eclipse with our surroundings and foreground subjects
using wide-angle lenses.
I'm very excited about our 2008 eclipse expedition to China's
Silk Road region. See the report and photo album from our recent
site inspection trip.
- Fred Espenak
For
complete details on the 2008 eclipse, see Fred Espenak's website.
For useful tips on photographing solar eclipses, click
here.
Please
join us for an amazing journey into the path of totality!
Space on this trip will be limited so send in your fully refundable
deposit NOW to get on the list!
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