Solar Eclipse Travel to the Polar Regions

Eyepiece freeze: anyone who does winter month observing in the bitter cold knows about the perils of eyepiece freeze. That is when the warm skin gets stuck to the ice cold metal of an eyepiece. Having a rubber eyepiece guard is the best solution.

Plan ahead: When is the next one? Just so happens to be a year away from the March 2015 eclipse, and this time in the tropics.

The Chill: As the eclipse nears 2nd contact you may feel that the air is getting chilly. It is. The amount of heat from the Sun is being reduced. The warmer the climate, the more noticeable this chilling effect can be. And it can influence cloud and weather changes.

Going Barefoot in the Arctic: Only way to do that is from a jet flying high above the ground.

Dream on: We spend the Winter months in Jamaica and it is very difficult to think of going to someplace cold while there. So this is based on a true story, slightly enhanced, of when we discussed going to the eclipse in the Faroe Islands.

Mind the surface: Pay attention to the surface you set up on. It is not unusual for a tripod to settle in the snow and ice (and sand). This can knock the alignment off and worse. Heard about one chap who planned to use old LPs as a form of snow shoe for the tripod. Hope they weren't anything good.

Polar Bears: Svalbard sounds like Africa in that the locals strongly recommend not wandering away from camp too far without an armed guide.