| A total solar eclipse, one of the earth's most unique | | | | terrain, the most probable venues being vast tracts |
| phenomena is when the Moon passes between the | | | | of ocean or barren icy wastes. Also whilst the Moon |
| Earth and the Sun, its shadow hitting the Earth and | | | | casts a huge shadow over the face of the Earth |
| blocking out the Sun. If you're lucky enough to be in | | | | sometimes as wide as 10,000 miles, the central |
| the path taken by the centre of that shadow, the | | | | umbral cone is only a fraction of this, sometimes as |
| Moon will align itself exactly with the sun, blocking it | | | | narrow as 100 miles or so. |
| entirely and you'll see a total eclipse. | | | | But here's the good news because the next total |
| Outside of the path of totality, although a staggering | | | | solar eclipse is nearly upon us, due on 29 March 2006. |
| 95% of the Sun is still obscured, the effect of the | | | | And, as the Moon's shadow sweeps across Africa |
| eclipse is not nearly so vivid - just a quiet, still, | | | | and the Mediterranean at 1,500 to 2,000 miles per |
| evening dusk-like effect. These were the conditions | | | | hour, the umbral cone will cross an area favoured by |
| most of us experienced during our 'once in a lifetime' | | | | many of us in our annual quest for a quick week |
| eclipse over the UK mainland on 11 August 1999, with | | | | away in guaranteed sunshine. |
| the next not now forecast until 2090. | | | | The Turkish Mediterranean coast already caters to |
| Huge cosmic coincidence is at work during a total | | | | thousands of holiday sun seekers: with plenty of |
| eclipse; the Moon is 400 times smaller than the Sun | | | | hotels, and a strong chance of cloudless skies, places |
| and the Sun is 400 times further from the Earth so, | | | | such as Dalaman are just around a 4 hour flight away |
| quite extraordinarily, from our viewpoint here on | | | | from the UK, with airlines such as XL offering cheap |
| Earth the size of these two celestial objects appears | | | | flights [ |
| to be exactly the same. | | | | And once you're in Turkey you can take to the sea |
| Whilst this coincidence is in the hands of greater | | | | and celebrate the event with a gulet flotilla holiday or |
| forces than us, getting ourselves into the right place | | | | if you want to mark the more cosmic significance of |
| at the right time is not. These days it is easily within | | | | the day there's a trance festival where eclipsaholics |
| our power to move swiftly around the planet. | | | | can chill together: have a look at for more details. |
| There are some qualifications here. Total eclipses roll | | | | So are you ready for another bite at your once in a |
| by every 18 months or so but nature throws out a | | | | lifetime opportunity? |
| much higher chance of incidence over inhospitable | | | | Oh...and don't forget your sun glasses! |