We are geocachers from California who enjoy meeting other cachers when we travel. In this case, we will be in Southern Illinois for the Total Eclipse of the Sun. We will be hosting this meet and greet before the eclipse starts but you will be welcome to hang around to view the eclipse with us. Note that events related to the eclipse are optional.
We will have astronomers from the Community Observatory in Placerville in our group and we have reserved the "Youth Group Camp" at Hamilton County Fish and Wildlife Area outside of McLeansboro, Illinois for the eclipse. We will have several fine telescopes dedicated to viewing the eclipse. Some of the live images will be displayed on screens.There will also be some expertise to share.
You are welcome to join us for these optional events. Here are some things you need to know:
- The Moon makes its first contact with the Sun at 12:44:33 - You will need to have solar glasses to view this directly
- Totality begins at 14:00:44 - This is the most exciting part of the eclipse - No special equipment is needed but a pair of binoculars may be exciting. There will be a comet visible during totality. We will image it with our telescopes and binoculars
- Totality ends 4 minutes and 4 seconds later at 14:04:48 - You will need protection to view the Sun again at this point
- The Moon's disk will no longer touch the Sun at 15:19:16
Here are some resources for understanding Solar Eclipses and viewing them safely:
Note: The Hamilton County Fish and Wildlife Area will be very busy on eclipse day. Parking may be difficult. You may want to arrive early and plan additional travel time. There will be signs discouraging the general public from entering the group campsite. These do not apply to you. There should be enough parking for you at the group site.