Eclipsing

[AdamD]

Awesome pics

So we live just outside of the path of totality. It seemed silly to me to be so close but not experience the grandeur of it. So I took off work (which I never, ever do), took the kids out their first day of school early (kindergarten and preschool), and we headed southwest to my aunt's property for a front row seat. We took a gamble with the weather that just so happened to pay off!

To see it, experience it, there are no words, pictures, news clips that could ever do it justice. I feel so blessed to be able to be part of it.

Our setting was serene. And yes, there was plenty of fishing involved! My uncle had a theory that, just like at dusk and dawn, near the time of totality the fish would bite more. He was right!




When it came time for the main event, we put fishing aside and fixed our eyes to the sky. Minutes before totality we could see the eeriest darkness start to creep into our surroundings. It was like being in a dreamscape, everything was confused and distorted. The birds flew in to nest, chickens to roost, crickets and cicadas set the background noise to an otherwise quiet moment. The temperature had dropped steadily from a sultry 92F to a comfortable mid 80's I would guess. The atmosphere was electric, the hairs on my arm and neck were standing on end. It seemed everything was being drawn toward the heavens.

And then, it happened. Glasses, off. Everyone looked around at each other in disbelief, awestruck grins slapped across their faces. No one really knew what to say. Stars and planets were plainly visible at this point, in the northern horizon the sky glowed like twilight.

My wife had her camera still bagged up, insisting she wouldn't want to waste precious time on pictures, but her mom had hers out just in case someone caught the impulse. My wife couldn't resist.


Remarkably I like the date stamp, lol. Who's ever said that? Anyways, that's our experience. Thanks for letting me share. My words still don't do God's glory justice

 

[abax]

We saw an almost total eclipse on our front deck. The deck
was covered end to end with shadows of the moon moving
over the deck. We watched the sun in a puddle of water and could even see the corona of many colors. Unfortunately, all glasses sold out everywhere, but the
experience was quite moving anyway.

 

[ehanes7612]

My best friend was with me and we were both looking at the last sliver of sun when it went total...I took my glasses off and was just floored,( baileys beads and the corona were better than I expected)..then I heard her say, "I dont see anything" ...I replied " take your glasses off" ..I wish I had a picture of the look on her face when she saw the corona ...it was priceless..30 seconds later she was so excited she started pacing in a circle, not knowing what to do with herself (later, she said she felt like a chicken with their head cut off)...I told her " Christine , its not over yet ..keep watching for the beads" ...it was like watching a little kid lose it with fascination..we also heard crickets starting to chirp.

We are already planning for 2024

 

[Ozpaph]

Its great to read these first hand accounts. thank-you.

 

[Secundino]

Yep! Thank you!

We just got the last bit of eclipse, before sunset, and only 40%... With calima (dust) and a few high cirrus, there was little to see, so we went to the beach until dusk ...

 

[Linus_Cello]

When and where is the next eclipse outside of the US?
WP had an interesting article yesterday about an Illinois town that's in the path of the eclipse yesterday and in 2024:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news...s-total-solar-eclipse/?utm_term=.13e3ddf1958a

 

[Secundino]

15 of february 2018; 2nd of july 2019, 10 of june 2021 ... :clap:

 

[NYEric]

At work we had x-rays films of the structural steel members on hand so we went out to the field and shared them with some of the construction workers to look at the partial eclipse through the light. Next time I will be with my GF to watch.

 

[ehanes7612]

At work we had x-rays films of the structural steel members on hand so we went out to the field and shared them with some of the construction workers to look at the partial eclipse through the light. Next time I will be with my GF to watch.

I think I will be going to Texas to see it.. but you will just be a couple hours from totality, right ? Don't miss it!!

 

[KyushuCalanthe]

Here's a nice video of the event. At the end you can how dark it gets at maximum - pretty impressive. These guys have some fun videos about camping and hiking as well, so have a look.

Solar Eclipse in 4K

 

[ehanes7612]

For those who have not seen a total eclipse ...pictures are nice , but there is not a single photo or video I have seen from any past eclipse that captures the light perfectly. The sky is not black, if i recall correctly it's like a perfect flat (muted tones) darkish gray blue, although the moon is pitch black, and the quality of light from the ring, baileys beads and that last glimpse of light just before totality rivals any sparkle you will see off a perfect diamond (hence the name diamond ring)..it is a quality of light that we never see otherwise (unless you study lasers). Some high resolution composite pictures capture the corona really well but there is no substitute for seeing the corona live with your own eyes, you are seeing the sun in it's true form..and nothing comes even close to capturing the split second totality happens,.. serenity, peace, awe, nirvana , etc ...the 90 seconds was short lived but I will never forget this experience..every nano second of it. Everyone should see totality at least once in their lives.

 

[ehanes7612]

15 of february 2018; 2nd of july 2019, 10 of june 2021 ... :clap:

everyone in europe will be flocking to spain in 2026 for the eclipse

 

[silence882]

The wife and I changed plans from Santee, SC to Sweetwater, TN due to the SC forecast calling for clouds. In Sweetwater there were scattered clouds when the eclipse started, but by totality they had completely dissipated. It was amazing.

Getting home was not so amazing. It took us 11 hours to get from Sweetwater, TN to a hotel in Lexington, VA. It's usually a 5.5 hour trip. We might have made it home to Maryland except the incompetents at the Virgina DOT went ahead with night construction and lane closures on I-81. It turned the interstate into a parking lot. By the time we hit Lexington we were too tired to safely drive.

Still, I would've gladly sat in traffic for days to see it.

 

[Secundino]

everyone in europe will be flocking to spain in 2026 for the eclipse

Oh, no, please ....

 

[Ozpaph]

Oh, no, please ....

Got spare rooms?????:rollhappy::rollhappy:

 

[Secundino]

I'll escape to Australia ... always wanted to go there...

 

[ehanes7612]

Australia is beautiful

 

[NYEric]

There is a great video on youtube of the international space station crossing the eclipse. I will try to cut and paste at work.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lepQoU4oek4

 

[Secundino]

Yes, that is great!
And there is a sequence of one of the martian moons - Phobos I think - crossing the sun. Just an annular eclipse, for the moons are too small. You'll find that link at the daily entries of the photographs returning from curiosity on mars/nasa. If it's not ok to link this here, please tell me or remove it!

 

[mrhappyrotter]

I hate I missed this thread until now (the unread posts thing doesn't work so I have a feeling I miss out on a lot).

My eclipse viewing was pretty fun. I headed down to Carter & Holmes in South Carolina on Monday morning. It was in the 100% zone. Lots of other folks had the same idea, met some nice people, ran into old friends. I don't think any of us coordinated, it was just a bunch of people that decided they wanted to go be around orchids & orchid people for the eclipse.

Things really worked out! I had some hesitation about going because of the traffic warnings, weather forecast, and the amount of clouds, but the clouds stayed out of the way so that we all got to see the eclipse pretty much from the moment that the moon started moving through the sun. There were lots of wide open areas as well as lots of shady spots (to help combat the heat). Of course we could also escape indoors to the air conditioned lobby and the cooler greenhouses.

Lots of excitement as the totality hit. Temperatures dropped pretty significantly, and although it wasn't super dark, the sky dimmed enough that we started to see some of the planets and stars appear. There was a brief period of time when the cicadas and birds stopped calling, and the crickets took their place. Several of us brought dogs, which didn't seem to mind or really notice that something strange was happening.

Overall, it was a great experience and the folks at Carter and Holmes were incredibly gracious and accommodating. Big kudos to them!