Excursion - Annular Partial Solar Eclipse 2023 Adventure

INTRO

A trip to witness the 2023 Annular Solar Eclipse occurring on October 14, 2023 from a location on the centerline of the moon’s shadow. Likely west of Junction, Texas. A WhatsApp group has been set up for discussions related to this event. You can access the WhatsApp group chat via this link:

https://chat.whatsapp.com/BjpDrH6hAWw1FugUULSxUc

Please register for this WhatsApp group as it will be one of the primary links to coordinate our activities. More information about that will be posted on the WhatsApp group.

UPDATE OCT 6
Hey y’all ! Just a quick reminder about eclipse glasses. I purchased just enough to cover the C&H members now signed up. If you have eclipse glasses, bring them. If you are bringing guests you will need to provide for theirs. Real CE and ISO certified glasses can still be purchased throgh Amazon and others. Make sure they have these certifications - regular sunglasses will NOT protect your eyes and eclipse glasses will need to be wirn throughout the entire eclipse if you look at it.

UPDATE OCT 3
I think the most equitable wayy to distribute eclipse glasses given the quantity I have is going to be one for each registered signed up member until i run out. If you are bringing guests you can share your one pair or purchase your own from Amazon or American paper Optics or others.

UPDATE SEP 29
It is now about two weeks from the eclipse, and I have been researching alternate viewing locations but have not found a better target than my earlier observations. So, the location I am planning on is an old Scenic Overlook on US Highway 377 southwest of Junction TX, about 23.9 miles from the main intersection in the town of Junction. The geolocation on Google maps is 30.24265,-99.97113

Travel time estimated by Google Maps from a random point at the intersection of Hwy 183 and N FM620 is 169 miles/3 hours if traveling out Highway 29 (preferred, and the route I will take) or 178 miles/3.5 hours if traveling out Highway 290. Both of these routes lead to Junction, Texas and then the target spot is 24 miles down Hwy 377. Neither of these time estimates take into consideration the influx of millions of people along the path of the shadow centerline that are predicted to travel into the area for the event so we should allow for more travel time than is suggested.

Because there will be so many people traveling to get to the centerline like we will be, I strongly encourage everyone driving to use the available seats in your car to take others. We may find that parking is difficult to find and may have to move around until we can find a safe place to park. Whether or not this is the case is something that cannot be known until we arrive. We can take a poll or similar to determine who has available seats the day before on Friday.

As long as the cellular systems do not become overwhelmed, we can communicate via WhatsApp or phone so that we can generally gather in the same area if possible. Please set the geolocation above before leaving the Austin area.

The beginning of the eclipse in our location will be approximately 10:20AM (15:20 UTC) and the annular portion will begin approximately 11:48AM (16:48 UTC). To see the start of the eclipse at 10:20AM the suggested time to leave or be near the intersection I noted above would be 7AM at the latest. It would be great if we could all be somewhere near that intersection of 183 and FM620 at 7AM in case one of us had car issues on the way out. If the traffic is light we may have time to stop near Junction but I suggest bringing snacks and lots of water, etc.

This is the plan, but check back here for more updates as necessary.

GENERAL INFO

A special thanks to Justice for setting up this Meetup page and the WhatsApp

Because of this event, people are traveling from as far as Nevada and North Carolina to Texas so campsites and even day passes are already booked - currently the plan is to leave the Austin area early the day of the event and arrive at a location along the shadow centerline to take advantage of this unique and fairly rare type of eclipse. We are targeting the centerline of the shadow, to see the "ring of fire" effect of this unique eclipse. Outside of the path, a typical partial eclipse will be visible.

The area we are targeting will enjoy the longest time along the path over the US at about 4 minutes 50 seconds.

Our target destination is near where the centerline crosses US 377 - at an overlook which should give us a great view if we are lucky enough to get space to park. The entire eclipse will last about two hours but the annular portion will be about 5 minutes.

Check back often on this Meetup Event, I'll be adding more information from time-to-time.