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July 15-29, 2009, with Ed Turner, Astrophysics. Get as close as possible to the point of maximum totality off the coast of Southwest Japan.

In 2006, a small group of Princetonians gathered with Professor Ed Turner in the Egyptian desert to witness a total solar eclipse. On July 22, 2009, the sun will again disappear behind the moon, the Earth and sky will darken, and stars and planets will become visible for nearly six minutes. Princeton Journeys is offering two programs in east Asia on the center line of totality with the hopes that more alumni and friends of Princeton will be able to experience this awesome phenomenon.

"Eclipse chasers" have long calculated that the best place to view the 2009 total solar eclipse would be off the southern coast of Japan. To chase the longest duration possible, Princeton Journeys will cruise aboard the Costa Classica along the path of totality in the Pacific Ocean south of Japan, where totality will last a full 6 minutes and 38.9 seconds—the longest possible viewing time. Professor Turner, who spends a good deal of time researching in Japan and is excited to show off some of his favorite sites, will join this program.

Explore Beijing's Forbidden City and Tiananmen Square and visit the South Korean island of Cheju and lovely Kagoshima in southern Japan. Then cruise to the centerline and hope for clear skies. Disembark in Kobe and continue on an overland journey to the temples and shrines of Kyoto and Nara, and experience the highlights of Tokyo, including the Edo Museum and Roppongi Hills. Because of a new research collaboration between Princeton's department of Astrophysics the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan, participants will gain special access to Nobeyama National Astronomical Observatory and learn about this partnership.

Please note: The Princeton Journeys group will make up only a small portion of the eclipse viewers on board the ship. During the cruise, we will join travelers from MIT and the Harvard Museum of Natural History for lectures, meals, and excursions. Upon disembarkation, the Princeton group will tour independently through Japan.

About the Study Leader
Edwin L. Turner, Professor of Astrophysical Sciences at Princeton University, will serve as the Princeton Study Leader for this program.

Working extensively in both theoretical and observational astrophysics, he has published more than 160 research papers on such topics as gravitational lensing, galaxy clustering, quasar populations, the cosmological constant, extrasolar planets, and astrobiology. Professor Turner saw a total solar eclipse in 1970 from an island off Cape Cod, saw an annular solar eclipse in 1994 from an observatory in New Mexico, and was prevented from seeing the totality portion of an eclipse in 1999 by clouds over Munich—which he says was "very frustrating!" Hopefully, the group will get a clear view this time (as he and the Princeton group did in Egypt in 2006) and Professor Turner will help explain and contexualize the experience.

To make a reservation, fill out the form in the brochure or contact Princeton Journeys at (609) 258-8686 or journeys@princeton.edu.

Princeton Journeys is offering two eclipse viewing programs in 2009. Please see details of our land-based program in China.

View photos of the trip.