Internationally-renowned astronomer David Reneke will lead a group of stargazers across the United States this month for the epic Great American Eclipse
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A major US tour company has asked David to lead a 12-day tour across the US.
“I’m pretty chuffed I’ve been asked to lead a tour on what’s going to be the most watched sky event in history,” David said. “It’s one of the most incredible sights a human being can ever imagine.”
Eclipses are nothing new, but this is the first time in 99 years one is crossing the entire US in one go.
Around 12 million people will be in the eclipse path and one billion people world-wide will watch it on Monday, August 21.
David’s tour will go through Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming, which is in the eclipse path.
“The eclipse only lasts two minutes and 40 seconds but in that time people from all over the world are coming to see it,” said David.
“This has been booked out years ahead. You can’t get a hotel or motel anywhere.”
David will tell his stargazers how to photograph the event and what to expect. He’s thrilled to have been asked.
“It just shows that what I’m doing is making a change. I’ve got a worldwide profile now.”
His website, davidreneke.com, and stories stretch to 13 Australian radio stations and 32 countries.
“I’ve turned a hobby into a business. They say there’s a very thin line between a hobby and an obsession,” he said.
David explained an eclipse happens when the Moon passes between us and the Sun.
“It’s only when all the mechanics of the solar system work together. It happens once every two years somewhere around the world. “Isn’t it interesting that the Moon is 400 times smaller than the Sun, yet these two cover themselves exactly? But the Sun is 400 times further away.”
Earth is also the only place in the universe where this occurs. It’s a quirk of nature the disc of the Moon completely covers the Sun.
Travelling with David is Cliff Watson from his mid-North Coast Astronomy Group.
After the tour, David will visit Washington, Tennessee, Florida (to Cape Canaveral to watch a rocket launch) and Texas.