The total eclipse of the sun that occurred on June 21, 2001 passed over southern Africa. It was successfully observed in totally clear skies from a viewing site at Chisamba in Zambia. This was just northwest of the Capitol city of Lusaka. There were about 10 buses and approximately 260 eclipse observers there at a special site set aside for that day. Most astronomy groups came to the site from the Lusaka Intercontinental Hotel. The eclipse was fantastic (the best of the 17 total eclipses that the Site Moderator has been to), with never a cloud in the sky and never a doubt about seeing it. It got very still at totality, with a large prominence visible as a beautiful object in the Questar telescope. The birds all remained still during totality, then a number of roosters in the area crowed loudly at the return of the sun 3 1/2 minutes later. A great celebration party with native dancers and lots of excellent African food followed, along with a trip 4 hours south on the day after to see the spectacular Victoria Falls. A good time was had by all!
Just a year and a half later in December of 2002 there was another total solar eclipse very close to the path of of the 2001 eclipse. It was only about 140 miles further south. The 2002 total eclipse in southern Africa appeared to have all of the advantages of an ideal event, It was in South Africa (a great country to visit), and passed directly over Kruger Park, which is one of the largest and finest wildlife parks in the world. It was also on December 4, which is during late Spring in the southern hemisphere.
What could be better than to set up next to a family of elephants and observe the effects of a total eclipse on them? NASA had even booked all of the rooms (roundevals) in all 12 of the fenced-in camps within the park. The park was indeed full for this short (1 min 25 sec) eclipse. Our group flew into Johannesburg, and made our way four hours east to Kruger. But, alas, it was not to be. During the late evening before the eclipse a thick band of clouds moved in, with three separate layers of clouds at different altitudes. Many hundreds of eclipse chasers were there on the centerline, and the elephants were also there, but no sun could be seen. The sky was completely socked in. No one at Kruger saw anything of the eclipse, but our group did have a wonderful four days in Kruger Park, seeing the “Big Five” in the first two days. The eclipse was observed quite a bit further west in Botswana in partly cloudy skies.
Gallery Slideshow Photos for the 2001 and 2002 Total Eclipses in Southern Africa:
*** NOTE: Click on “Show as Slideshow” to Display these 2001 and 2002 Photos as a Slideshow at the Bottom of the Page. When the Slideshow Begins, place the Curser at the Bottom Center of the Photo to View the Slideshow Navigation Bar. The Title of each Slide is in the Center of the Navigation Bar. To Pause the Slideshow on a Photo, click on the Slide Number. To Mute and Unmute the Music, click on the Speaker Icon that is Second from the Right. To Display the Slideshow in the Full Screen Mode or in a Smaller Window, click on the Display Icon at the Far Right End of the Navigation Bar. To end the Slideshow click on “Show Picture List”.***