![This vintage engraved illustration reveals the sun's corona during the total solar eclipse of Aug. 18, 1868, from the peninsula of Malacca in Malaysia.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/jjgvfYzQEqxZKduXrfPUuf-320-80.jpg)
Total Eclipse, Partial Failure: Tales of Scientific Missions Gone Bad
For centuries, scientists have known when and where eclipses will be visible. They pack their bags, head for the line of totality and hope for the best – which doesn't always happen.