On December 4, 2021, a total solar eclipse will occur. But if you’re in the Northern Hemisphere, you won’t see it. It will be visible in some parts of Australia and in the south Pacific and Atlantic Oceans….and in Antarctica.
You will have a chance to see the eclipse at its fullest if you board the M/V Sea Spirit at Ushuaia, Argentina on November 20, 2021. Poseidon Expeditions, the owner of the Sea Spirit, is offering a cruise launching from that location which will visit South Georgia, the Falkland Islands, and the Antarctic Peninsula. On Day 14 of the 23-day trip, the ship will navigate the vessel to the small path of totality where you’ll be able to see the eclipse in all its majesty.
“You can see by the map on this Wiki page (by following the small black dot, which represents the exact, perfect pathway to be in for the eclipse) that the location is a very challenging place, not on typical sea lanes, nor a place someone might take their pleasure boat,” Steve Wellmeier, managing director of Poseidon Expeditions USA, told Lonely Planet. “Hence the Antarctic expedition ship operators are in a particularly good position (or, they will be!) to take advantage of this event.”
In addition to the solar eclipse, the itinerary will also cross Drake’s Passage and the Antarctic Convergence, a biological ring around the continent where warmer sub-Antarctic waters meet the colder waters that are flowing north.
“Chasing total eclipses…allows curious, science loving travelers to check off a number of notable destinations or events: being in the relatively narrow, optimal path of a total eclipse of the sun and exploring the remote and pristine wilderness areas of South Georgia and the Antarctic Peninsula,” Wellmeier said.
The ship will have a 23-member team of wildlife and earth science experts aboard to help passengers understand the amazing naturescapes around them, and astrophysicist Paul Sutter will provide information about eclipses and other astronomical features you might see in the Southern Ocean and Southern Hemisphere.
If you’re interested in this cruise, you’d better start saving your pennies now: it costs $16,556 per person for triple occupancy and $21, 866 per person for double occupancy. For more information or to buy tickets, visit the Poseidon Expeditions website.
Photo: A sunset in Antarctica. Credit: Shutterstock