1994 New Mexico Annular Eclipse
In the Zone of Broken Annularity
In May 1994, a group of eclipse chasers including myself, Steve Edberg, Jay Anderson, and Alberto Levy made a trip to see the Annular Solar Eclipse in New Mexico, with stops along the way at observatories and National Parks. Our objective was to be in the “Zone of Broken Annularity”, where Baily’s Beads skirt along the edge of the Moon. Technically, the Sun is neither eclipsed or in a partial phase. In the days prior to GPS availability, we found our spot on an aircraft map and caught the beads.
At a rest stop where we set up to view the eclipse.
I used a Celestron 5-inch telescope to photograph the eclipse.
A few minutes before the annular phase.
Baily's Beads!
The beads rolled around the limb of the Moon.
We also visited Kitt Peak Observatory.
One of our stops was Carlsbad Caverns. Here I am jumping over a pool in the lower caverns, a level down from the main caverns.