2017 Total Solar Eclipse

[MigL]

Nightfall by Asimov.

[Janus]

7 hours ago, MigL said:

Reminds me of a science fiction story about a planet orbiting multiple suns, such that the sky was always bright.
But every thousand years solar eclipses would bring nightfall, everybody went nuts, and civilization would come to an end.

Be wary of people acting strange.
It could be the beginning of the end.

In the story, it was the view of the stars (which no living person of the time had never seen), which was compounded by the fact the system was located inside a globular cluster that drove people crazy.  Their night sky was so full of stars that it gave one the feeling of teetering on the edge of infinity.

An interesting note, while this is the most famous and widely acclaimed of Asimov's short stories, it was not his personal favorite.

As far as people acting strangely, we don't need the actual eclipse for that. I've already seen two posts on Facebook telling people to keep their pets inside to protect their eyes from the eclipse (As if animals, unlike Humans, are stupid enough to stare at the Sun. And what about all the wild animals, who's going to look out for them?), and even one where they said they were planning to stay inside with the windows covered for protection against the eclipse.

I guess that just goes to prove the old saying that the stupidity of humanity knows no bounds.

Edited August 20, 2017 by Janus

[iNow]

Phil Plait was lamenting a similar problem of school teachers planning to keep kids inside so they're out of danger. The mind boggles.

For anyone looking for ways to view without actually being there: https://www.vox.com/platform/amp/2017/8/20/16171290/solar-eclipse-2017-how-to-watch-at-home

 

[Outrider]

Hello All

Happy Eclipse Day!

Im at work now but leaving in about 45 minutes for Lebanon Tenn which is 2 hours north of here and very close to centerline. I got my ISO certified glasses. 

I'm really excited as its my first total. Hope everyone has a safe and good day.

And no clouds!

[zapatos]

So far it is sunny here (in the path of totality) with wispy clouds. I'm going to start watching at my house, then as it gets closer to totality take a walk to a nearby park. I feel like a kid again!

[Delta1212]

On 8/20/2017 at 9:22 AM, Janus said:

In the story, it was the view of the stars (which no living person of the time had never seen), which was compounded by the fact the system was located inside a globular cluster that drove people crazy.  Their night sky was so full of stars that it gave one the feeling of teetering on the edge of infinity.

An interesting note, while this is the most famous and widely acclaimed of Asimov's short stories, it was not his personal favorite.

As far as people acting strangely, we don't need the actual eclipse for that. I've already seen two posts on Facebook telling people to keep their pets inside to protect their eyes from the eclipse (As if animals, unlike Humans, are stupid enough to stare at the Sun. And what about all the wild animals, who's going to look out for them?), and even one where they said they were planning to stay inside with the windows covered for protection against the eclipse.

I guess that just goes to prove the old saying that the stupidity of humanity knows no bounds.

The way that word of mouth spreads about looking at the eclipse really does make it seem like looking at the eclipse is particularly bad for your eyes rather than just, you know, looking at the sun being really bad for your eyes whether there is an eclipse or not.

[zapatos]

I recently read about a guy who stared at an eclipse for a short time a number of years back. The sun damaged his eyes in exactly the way the eclipse looked at the time. so that he now basically sees an eclipse in the middle of his field of vision all the time.

[zapatos]

Just got back to my house. It was totally awesome!

Prior to totality it got noticeably cooler and kind of breezy. Started hearing night insects. And it was really eerie out, sort of that weird green kind of look you get before some big storms.

During totality we were able to see Venus and Mercury in the vicinity of the sun. The diamond ring effect was perfect. And I clearly saw red solar prominences. The corona stood out during the entire period of totality.  

It's kind of hard to describe how it felt. I noticed after totality that I was breathing kind of hard. And it felt like I needed a cigarette. 

Luckily for me the total eclipse in North America in 2024 will pass within 1 hour of my house. 

Attached picture is totality taken by my daughter-in-law a few miles from where I was. For me the sky was crystal clear.

[swansont]

Only a partial eclipse here, but we had a good time. It got cooler and while it didn't get noticeably darker (except when the clouds passed in front), the color saturation seemed off. A little strange.

That there was one person attending who doesn't give a rat's ass about science, and whose entourage totally hogged the big telescope for an hour only slightly detracted from the fun.

[Delta1212]

I wasn't in the path of totality, but I got a couple of decent shots by turning the exposure on my phone's camera all the way down and shooting through some clouds.

 

 

I hadn't thought of it ahead of time, but a few times while it was going on, there was just the right amount of cloud cover for the sun to be clearly visible while also not being blinding to look at, which was pretty cool.

 

[Mordred]

caught 20 minutes of it on lunch break not in totality but roughly 75%

[hypervalent_iodine]

On 01/07/2017 at 7:32 AM, beecee said:

I was lucky enough to see a total solar eclipse in November 2012 at a place called Palm Cove near Cairns in Queensland Northern Australia.

I was simply using a shade 10 welding glass. Pretty awe inspiring to say the least, particularly before totality and just after totality.

My next item on my bucket list is to see a Annular solar eclipse.

I saw the same one here in Brisbane. My friend and I didn't have glasses, so we poked holes in some paper and watched the shadows move on another piece of paper / our hands. The dimness of the light (it being around 8am or so) during totality was otherworldly. Reminded me of being in a dust storm. 

[beecee]

25 minutes ago, hypervalent_iodine said:

I saw the same one here in Brisbane. My friend and I didn't have glasses, so we poked holes in some paper and watched the shadows move on another piece of paper / our hands. The dimness of the light (it being around 8am or so) during totality was otherworldly. Reminded me of being in a dust storm. 

It was certainly eerie to say the least! My only question is while I am able to understand the apparent sudden temperature drop, why the sudden, seemingly pick up of wind or breeze?

An Annular eclipse occurs when the Moon is at apogee which would give a full view of the Sun's corona and surface, while blocking out the vast majority of the Sun....I reckon that would be spectacular.

[Outrider]

Whew I'm finally home. 2 hours to get there and 4 to get back plus a stop to eat. The outbound traffic was something probably never seen in this area before.

It was so worth it I don't think I ever will (I hope I don't) get the image of the corona blazing around the moon out of my mind. We had a very good and polite crowd at the park we stopped at and just perfect blue skies. 

Zapatos and others have done a fine job of describing what I witnessed today but words as well as  pictures could never do it justice.

The eerie darkness and coolness was really neat and the moon slowly swallowing the sun. But wow the suns corona was easily the highlight of the show.

I took some pictures on my phone but they unsurprisingly turned out bad.

Cheers to you all and heres to 2024.

29 minutes ago, beecee said:

My only question is while I am able to understand the apparent sudden temperature drop, why the sudden, seemingly pick up of wind or breeze?

The cool air inside the zone of totality is pushing out to displace the warmer air outside?

Just my guess but I would think its not to far off the mark. Perhaps someone more knowledgeable will correct or add some detail.

[Janus]

Got to Lincoln city, OR yesterday from Portland, and despite the doom and gloom predictions, traffic was light.  

Woke this morning to heavy fog, and by the start of the eclipse, the sun was going in and out of visibility. 

We were stationed on a grassy spot near our hotel when a sanitation truck drove in. The driver told us that if we drove down the road a bit, turned left and drove another 3/4 mile,  the sky was clear. We jumped into the car and found the spot, along with a small group of locals.

I was able to get a shot of totality, and also collected a number of email addresses from people who were there and whose cell phone photos didn't turn out and wanted a copy.

Back around the hotel and heading home tomorrow  (To let you know how unusually quiet it is here, we were able  to extend our hotel stay by an extra night at the last minute, and you can never get a last minute room at the beach during the summer.)

[iNow]

I wonder what my four year old will remember when asked in the future about today's eclipse.

It rained hard here and thunderstormed all night. 50% chance of storms and mostly cloudy forecasted at our closest totality location, the target we'd set for ourselves, normally a 2 hour drive away.  

Showered, woke my wife, my 4 year old, and 12 week old. Brewed some coffee, grabbed some grub, loaded the cooler with snacks and sammies, and hit the highway, car seats and stroller ready to roll.

Super dark start, on and off storms the entire way, some of the heaviest rain I'd ever driven in, actually. Took nearly 4 hours to get there with no stops.

"Come on, wind... I can see clear sky in the distance... just blow off the clouds a little... just for a few minutes... that's all we need," my mantra as I white knuckled the steering wheel down the highway through the torrent with my most precious cargo in tow.

Rolled in about 15 minutes before first contact. Rain had stopped. Clouds had thinned somewhat and brief openings were becoming more common, panels of light occasionally allowed passage, but still mostly ominous all around us.

Put on our glasses and could see the occlusion each time the clouds cleared. "There's the sun, daddy! And the moon... I see it!!"  "Yes, over there! I see it, too!!"

Coverage grew as the "dragon ate the sun" for the next hour plus. The clouds came then cleared as if shimmying to a jazz piece from Gershwin and for ephemeral moments we could see the moons coverage increasing...5%...20%...60%...80%...

"Well, hot damn and holy shit," I thought. "This might just happen!"

The storm clouds were gathering, though. Ferociously charging our way like a bull toward the matadors red silk. It'd be like threading a needle, but we had a chance to see totality if they went slowly enough. Given their velocity, volume, and dense towering shape though, it was a small chance. 

Insects all around us buzzed, birds changed to their evening songs, the wind picked up, the temperature dropped. There was a sunset with spectacular reds, oranges, and other colors clearly visible on every horizon in every direction. 

Then, it became significantly darker, and quickly, too! Hard to tell if it was because the sun was being occluded by the moon or if it was being occluded by the storm clouds. I already knew the answer in my heart, though.

It once more began raining on us moments before totality hit. Instead of standing there in orgasmic awe and mind altering bliss, we were rushing our kids into the car and grabbing our chairs and snacks to prevent further saturation from the downpour.

About 7 minutes later, enough light came through that we could tell totality was over, even though there wasn't enough light to actually experience any of it.

My disappointment was heavy and an oppressive sense of sadness and lost opportunity sat low in my belly the entire ride home, this time with traffic so bad it took six hours to complete the drive which normally takes us only two.

Oh well. Maybe next time...

Edited August 22, 2017 by iNow

[zapatos]

So sorry iNow.

[swansont]

7 hours ago, iNow said:

  Oh well. Maybe next time...

April 8, 2024. I may have to go visit relatives in western NY for that one. Though I wonder if Texas would be a better bet, cloud-wise.

https://www.timeanddate.com/eclipse/map/2024-april-8

[StringJunky]

6 minutes ago, swansont said:

April 8, 2024. I may have to go visit relatives in western NY for that one. Though I wonder if Texas would be a better bet, cloud-wise.

https://www.timeanddate.com/eclipse/map/2024-april-8

That one will be a 96% eclipse for the UK, so should be quite good.

[swansont]

Here's three pictures I took. One is through an 8" telescope. The second with a strainer as a pinhole camera, that looks blurry, and the last is using a tree as a pinhole camera.

[iNow]

2 hours ago, swansont said:

Though I wonder if Texas would be a better bet, cloud-wise.

While it's not yet hurricane season, April and May in Texas is tornado season and tend to bring intense rain storms, but hard to say how it'll be in 7 years given our changing climate dynamics. 

[Endy0816]

It was decent here. Could have been less cloudy but were enough clear areas we could still watch it.

I had hoped to have the day off, but it was real quiet at work. Some folks had eclipse glasses they were nice enough to share. Everyone taking part was nice to see.

Weather was a bit odd. Seemed like the wildlife was reacting as well. Thought that was oddly interesting to see along with eith the celestial event taking place.

[dimreepr]

12 hours ago, iNow said:

I wonder what my four year old will remember when asked in the future about today's eclipse.

It rained hard here and thunderstormed all night. 50% chance of storms and mostly cloudy forecasted at our closest totality location, the target we'd set for ourselves, normally a 2 hour drive away.  

Showered, woke my wife, my 4 year old, and 12 week old. Brewed some coffee, grabbed some grub, loaded the cooler with snacks and sammies, and hit the highway, car seats and stroller ready to roll.

Super dark start, on and off storms the entire way, some of the heaviest rain I'd ever driven in, actually. Took nearly 4 hours to get there with no stops.

"Come on, wind... I can see clear sky in the distance... just blow off the clouds a little... just for a few minutes... that's all we need," my mantra as I white knuckled the steering wheel down the highway through the torrent with my most precious cargo in tow.

Rolled in about 15 minutes before first contact. Rain had stopped. Clouds had thinned somewhat and brief openings were becoming more common, panels of light occasionally allowed passage, but still mostly ominous all around us.

Put on our glasses and could see the occlusion each time the clouds cleared. "There's the sun, daddy! And the moon... I see it!!"  "Yes, over there! I see it, too!!"

Coverage grew as the "dragon ate the sun" for the next hour plus. The clouds came then cleared as if shimmying to a jazz piece from Gershwin and for ephemeral moments we could see the moons coverage increasing...5%...20%...60%...80%...

"Well, hot damn and holy shit," I thought. "This might just happen!"

The storm clouds were gathering, though. Ferociously charging our way like a bull toward the matadors red silk. It'd be like threading a needle, but we had a chance to see totality if they went slowly enough. Given their velocity, volume, and dense towering shape though, it was a small chance. 

Insects all around us buzzed, birds changed to their evening songs, the wind picked up, the temperature dropped. There was a sunset with spectacular reds, oranges, and other colors clearly visible on every horizon in every direction. 

Then, it became significantly darker, and quickly, too! Hard to tell if it was because the sun was being occluded by the moon or if it was being occluded by the storm clouds. I already knew the answer in my heart, though.

It once more began raining on us moments before totality hit. Instead of standing there in orgasmic awe and mind altering bliss, we were rushing our kids into the car and grabbing our chairs and snacks to prevent further saturation from the downpour.

About 7 minutes later, enough light came through that we could tell totality was over, even though there wasn't enough light to actually experience any of it.

My disappointment was heavy and an oppressive sense of sadness and lost opportunity sat low in my belly the entire ride home, this time with traffic so bad it took six hours to complete the drive which normally takes us only two.

Oh well. Maybe next time...

What a shame sorry to hear that, but on the bright side, that novel has a good start.

[Janus]

Here are two of the shots I was able to take. 

I just placed my eclipse glasses in front of the camera lens to get the partial eclipse.  Since they were this style:

it turned out to be tricky, if they were exactly in the right position, the picture would not turn out and trying to hold them in place while depressing the shutter was quite a chore, even with a tripod.

My wife choose to take this picture of me trying to capture the total eclipse.

[iNow]

Those came out great!