In East Greenland, passengers on a ship witnessed a total solar eclipse over the fjord
On August 12, passengers aboard the expedition ship MS Spitsbergen observed a total solar eclipse in Skorsby-Sunn Fjord in East Greenland. The total phase lasted 2 minutes and 14 seconds. Before the eclipse began, the sky cleared, and shortly after the total phase ended, the clouds rolled in again.
Space.com writer Daisy Dobrijevic arrived in East Greenland with a group of expedition participants after sailing from Svalbard. The ship sailed deep into Skorsby-Sunnen to position itself in the path of the moon’s shadow. During the journey, the participants saw icebergs, glaciers, Arctic plants, and two polar bears, which they spotted from the deck.
During the partial phase, the Moon gradually covered the Sun’s disk, and the light over the fjord turned yellowish and dim. When the last part of the Sun’s photosphere disappeared, the landscape was plunged into twilight. According to Dobriyevich, the white solar corona, pink solar prominences, as well as Venus, Jupiter, and Mercury were visible in the sky.
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The author noted that she was surprised by how long even the thin crescent of the Sun continued to illuminate the Greenlandic landscape. During the total phase, she saw the dark disk of the Moon, surrounded by a corona, above the icebergs and the steep walls of the fjord.
The cruise participants came from different countries and had different goals: some wanted to see the wilderness, while others traveled specifically for the eclipse. On board, there were lectures, nature excursions, and cloud observations as part of the GLOBE Observer citizen science project. Space.com notes that the author’s trip was arranged by HX Expeditions, which provided transportation and accommodations.
