This is THE special event of 2023! Not high science value, perhaps, but perhaps if we work to get Bailey's Beads events if the decision can be made to show how to record properly for usable information. But in any case, it's a great event because it's on a weekend, and passes across Great Basin National Park. I tried to make an Astro 25 out of this trip, but could not because it will take too much travel time. Instead, I had to make it an optional trip for Astro 9ABC - "Astrophotography".
Here's a PDF of the event Bailey's Beads science information and path
Here's a cool video of you in the shadow flying over the U.S during the eclipse.
Stay tuned; Much more to come as this trip takes shape. For right now, I can promise the 2 vans would leave Cabrillo at 11am on Wednesday (the Thursday night Astro 9ABC class would be folded into the trip itself), and not return until Tuesday night the following week. I'm double checking to make sure that Kenny Murray, our student van transporter driver, can take that much time off. If we go to NE CA instead, we may be able to return quicker. We shall see. There's hot springs to visit along the way, too.
Oct. 14, 16-17h UT: The annular eclipse is described well in an article by Espenak and Anderson on pages 34-40 of the October issue of Sky and Telescope, giving some good maps and cloud cover statistics, showing that New Mexico and the Four Corners area has among the best possibilities along the track. Much, but not all, of that article is covered online (https://skyandtelescope.org/astronomy-news/observing-octobers-annular-eclipse/) including a link to an interactive Google map to zoom in on the path. But for finding locations for the best Bailys bead observations, it is better to use Xavier Jubiers map (http://xjubier.free.fr/en/site_pages/solar_eclipses/ASE_2023_GoogleMapFull.html) since it will calculate the durations of annularity, taking into account both the lunar profile and the terrestrial topography (correction for elevation above sea level), by clicking first on a small square below and right of a car symbol just below the person street view symbol, and then left clicking on a selected location on the map. Once a site is found, it is then best to simulate the beads using the Baily Bead Analysis box on the Eclipses and transits page of IOTAs free Occult4 program available at https://occultations.org/observing/software/occult/ . We hope to record Bailys beads from a site near the southern limit from near NM Hwy 118 southwest of Gallup, while some other IOTA observers will likely try to make similar accurately timed recordings from near the northern limit, which will have a better show due to the larger topography near the lunar south pole. IOTA used to strongly encourage such observations for measuring the solar diameter, but we have come to realize the difficulty in deriving such information from filtered video recordings. Nevertheless, others are interested in obtaining such observations, and since this is the last annular eclipse visible from the USA until 2048, it will be a last chance for us.
(below is kept for reference for now. Kirk Bender and I did the eclipse alone, however, as students cancelled out before the trip.)
Route via Sacto/Reno/Austin NV takes 11 hours. 620 miles
Route via Yosemite/Tonopah NV takes 12 hours but has better camping prospects for first night Wed eve, near Mono Lake. 621 miles.
I'm really wanting to go to Great Basin National Park because it's got so much environmental value to enjoy and use for learning. Question: is there some legal barrier to driving the vans into Nevada? But if that's OK... GBNP has got Lehman Caves (limestone), it's got a Bristlecone Pine Forest, it's got the southernmost permanet glacier in the U.S. (rapidly melting - We can take some data on that, I hope). It's got mountain lakes, 13,000 ft Wheeler Peak, streams, and is lightly visited.
Alkali Flat Hot Springs, camp-able, south of Tonopah. Maybe a stop over on the way out??
Hot Springs of Nevada , all of them
Hickison Petroglyphs , looks like a good stop on the way back for photos
Wednesday 11am: Meet at the FP parking lot to load people, caravan begins - head out and cross Yosemite and camp in the Mono Lake area. I'm still pondering possible campsites. There are plenty of free or low cost opportunities. Parker Creek trailhead is more appealing to me right now. I'm so far unable to find a site that gives the costs and availability of camping at Benton Hot Springs (probably way too expensive. I don't see yet the option for simple outdoor camping there. I don't want to try and rent cabins). If we really want hot springs, there's also Whitemore Hot Springs more or less on-route, which might be availble as a day use thing. Unlikely: A side trip up to Bridgeport would get us to Travertine Hot Springs. But that will slow us down some; it's not on the way. Dinner. Astrophotography.
Thursday: Drive time 5hr 40m to GBNP. Break camp after breakfast, drive across Nevada to Great Basin National Park. Possible stop at Alkali Flat Hot Springs? It's out of our way, south of Tonopah, maybe or maybe not. Lunch will be on the road; pick up something at the Tonopah Subway or perhaps a market too, in Tonopah, and again perhaps in Ely in late afternoon. Look for campsite at the Upper, or else Lower Lehman Campground in the National Park. If full, we may have to camp down lower that night. If temperatures are hot enough, maybe at the 10,000 ft campground at Wheeler Peak, which would save us time driving up there Friday morning. Dinner. Astrophotography.
Friday - Breakfast. Drive to the 10,000 ft Wheeler Peak Campground for the day's explorations: Hike to the bristlecone pine forest, and to Rock Glacier, and hopefully a trail run to the top of Wheeler Peak for the adventurous? Perhaps Lehman Caves in the late afternoon before camping again at the lower campground. Dinner. Abnoba Asteroid Occultation. Astrophotography.
Saturday - Drive time 2hr 46m from GBNP to Bartine Hot Springs. Early morning simple fruit or granola breakfast, because the solar eclipse starts at 8am or so. After the eclipse, bigger brunch, more exploring of Great Basin. Perhaps this is the best time to try to get on a tour of Lehman Caves. Then drive to Austin , Eureka, visit Hickison Petroglyphs and then hot springs: perhaps Bartine Hot Springs , for camping Saturday night, or Ann suggests a little farther is a hot spring complex she's visited before - Spencer Hot Springs.. After researching all the public hot springs of Nevada, only Bartine is open and within range of our driving if on Hwy 50. Dinner. Astrophotography. Bob Scott Campground maybe, in mtns just west of the springs.
Sunday, Drive time 8hr 15min from Bartine Hot Springs (or Bob Scott campground) to Cabrillo College. Less if we instead go onward to Spencer Hot Springs for camping. Breakfast, enjoy hot springs a bit more, if time. Then drive home. Lunch will be at a Subway or othewise "on the road". Dinner will be the same; no time to stop and set up cooking gear. The drive will be long, get home probably after dark unless we get a very early start on Sunday.
Temperatures look to be cool and cloudy. High in the low 60's or high 50's, lows in the 40F area.
* Drive through Yosemite to camp at Parker Creek Thur night.
* Friday morning, breakfast there, then drive through Tonopah to Hwy 376, left turn onto Hwy 376, north to Carvers, then 6.0 miles to dirt road on left and 2 miles to trailhead "North-South Trail . Hike for a bit up the river along steep canyon. Then back on the road and just before arriving at Hwy 50, take a right and go down to Spencer Hot Springs and enjoy. Then, back on the road and drive to Eureka for some supplies, lunch perhaps, or else just straight go to the eclipse / camp site on Saddler Rd. Saddler-Brown Rd is 7.2 miles east of the point on Hwy 50 which is closest to "Lone Peak". There's no sign for the road. And, it's just before power lines cross over the road and a few miles west of Eureka. If you drive all the way into Eureka, then going west it's 9 miles to Saddler-Brown Rd from the Ace Hardware store on the north side of town.
* Saturday. Get the eclipse. Then drive Hwy 50, pause in Austin to check out this old town. Continue on and then south from the interstate to get down to Bridgeport, photograph, maybe enjoy the hot springs there, and depending on weather, go to the occultation sites.
* Sunday morning. Some photography in the morning, then Drive home again through Yosemite.
Forest Service Campgrounds in NV
Weather forecast for Austin, NV
Weather forecast for eclipse edge west of Eureka, NV
Successful trip! Got data on eclipse Bailey's Beads from 10 mi east of Eureka, at Yahoo Canyon. Also lots of deep sky images for Astro 9rs to work with. And a success on Katotsuyoshi from Owens River Rd.