Eclipse Plans

[Deidre32]

I saw the eclipse with those special glasses today! It was awesome. It didn't get too dark at all though, where I live, that was a little disappointing. But, still cool to look up with those glasses and see the sun without rays. ^_^

[SGOS]

I saw a partial eclipse (with approved eclipse glasses).  It was pretty underwhelming.  Just an orange blob with a black blob in front of it.  It didn't even really get noticeably darker outside.

The real rush comes during totality.  A lot happens all at once during that short time.  And it was awesome, I thought.  I don't know if I'd make another two day trip to see one.  I might, but I'm happy I got to see totality.

[SGOS]

I saw the eclipse with those special glasses today! It was awesome. It didn't get too dark at all though, where I live, that was a little disappointing. But, still cool to look up with those glasses and see the sun without rays. ^_^

The difference between 90% and 100% is dramatic.  A short sunset with red and blue, and a few stars, and the corona without having to wear glasses was the most dramatic astronomical event I've seen, and I saw a daytime fireball back in the late 60s, which came close, but I think this was better.

[Baruch]

The difference between 90% and 100% is dramatic.  A short sunset with red and blue, and a few stars, and the corona without having to wear glasses was the most dramatic astronomical event I've seen, and I saw a daytime fireball back in the late 60s, which came close, but I think this was better.

Seen a couple bolides at night ... you never know when they will happen, and you just happen to be looking in the right direction.  The Moon may be common, but it is still my favorite.

[SGOS]

Seen a couple bolides at night ... you never know when they will happen, and you just happen to be looking in the right direction.  The Moon may be common, but it is still my favorite.

The fireball I saw in 1972 has been recorded and named:  The Daylight Fireball of 1972.  Note that the video is NOT in slow motion. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4WlCfuPrszU

[Gawdzilla Sama]

The real rush comes during totality.  A lot happens all at once during that short time.  And it was awesome, I thought.  I don't know if I'd make another two day trip to see one.  I might, but I'm happy I got to see totality.

We were on a hill, Villa Ridge, watching the sky monster. When totality hit another ridge a few miles away erupted in firework, dozens of sky bursts. Daytime fireworks. Not much cooler than that.

[SGOS]

The downside of the Eclipse.  Two days of travel, one night in a motel, and caught in the mass exodus on the freeway that turned into a nightmarish crawl.  I got home at 1:30, wrung out and empty, and I feel like shit today.  I used to love driving and love traveling.  Now, I don't like either one.  I did leave the freeway after a couple of hours, and with my laptop, I planned a back roads alternative, which was also hit by the exodus, but we managed to move along no slower than 45 miles an hour as part of an infinite line of glowing tail lights snaking our way through the off Interstate Wilderness.

[SGOS]

We were on a hill, Villa Ridge, watching the sky monster. When totality hit another ridge a few miles away erupted in firework, dozens of sky bursts. Daytime fireworks. Not much cooler than that.

At Crab Orchard Lake, right?  I heard no cheers or fireworks, because I sought out the most backwater part of the most backwater rural community I could find in the path of totality.  I spent the morning of my arrival driving around looking for the best looking sites, which I had already hunted down on Google Earth.  I finally settled on a 30 or 40 acre field next to a secondary road surrounded by trees, fields, and one red barn 3/4 of a mile off on a hillside.  The field I chose belonged to (get this) a Pentecostal Church, not really a church but more like the converted remains of what must have been an abandoned farm outbuilding.  I figured church people wouldn't mind me using their field to witness God's handiwork, and I didn't want to have some farmer run me off his property with a shotgun.

[Gawdzilla Sama]

At Crab Orchard Lake, right?  I heard no cheers or fireworks, because I sought out the most backwater part of the most backwater rural community I could find in the path of totality.  I spent the morning of my arrival driving around looking for the best looking sites, which I had already hunted down on Google Earth.  I finally settled on a 30 or 40 acre field next to a secondary road surrounded by trees, fields, and one red barn 3/4 of a mile off on a hillside.  The field I chose belonged to (get this) a Pentecostal Church, not really a church but more like the converted remains of what must have been an abandoned farm outbuilding.  I figured church people wouldn't mind me using their field to witness God's handiwork, and I didn't want to have some farmer run me off his property with a shotgun.

Sorry, didn't make it to C'dale. We were about forty miles SW of St. Loser in I-44.

And I saw rent-a-cops patrolling church parking lots on the way down.

[SGOS]

Sorry, didn't make it to C'dale. We were about forty miles SW of St. Loser in I-44.
And I saw rent-a-cops patrolling church parking lots on the way down.

So much for Christian charity.  Or were they there to welcome and direct?  Actually, when I got back to the Pentecostal Field for the big event, the church pastor had arrived with his SUV at the far end of the field and set up an awning to cover it.  He walked over to me about 1/4 of the way into the eclipse, welcomed me, said he would be happy to have me join him and share his shelter, and that some others from the congregation might also show up.  I graciously declined, and he said I was welcome to set myself up in the shade of an overhang at the back of the church and that I was welcome to use the restroom facilities in the building.  What I would expect in a small community.

After the eclipse, I walked over and thanked him, and he God Blessed me, to which I replied, "And the same to you, Sir.  You put a curse on me.  I'll put one on you."  No, I didn't actually say the thing about the curse, nor did we discuss religion, but I was truly grateful for the hospitality, the kind that on the surface anyway, should not depend on faith in the supernatural, and it was pleasant.

[Baruch]

The downside of the Eclipse.  Two days of travel, one night in a motel, and caught in the mass exodus on the freeway that turned into a nightmarish crawl.  I got home at 1:30, wrung out and empty, and I feel like shit today.  I used to love driving and love traveling.  Now, I don't like either one.  I did leave the freeway after a couple of hours, and with my laptop, I planned a back roads alternative, which was also hit by the exodus, but we managed to move along no slower than 45 miles an hour as part of an infinite line of glowing tail lights snaking our way through the off Interstate Wilderness.

That bolide ... UFO or swamp gas ... you can be honest with us, Klatu.

[Hakurei Reimu]

The advantage of doubling up is that this trip wasn't only about the eclipse, but also seeing family. Got to finally meet the other side of my brother's family this trip.

[trdsf]

Home again.

Ninety seconds before totality, a cloud obscured the sun and we missed the diamond ring, the Bailly's Beads, the corona and everything.

NINETY FUCKING SECONDS.

I'll be over here sulking.

[SGOS]

Home again.

Ninety seconds before totality, a cloud obscured the sun and we missed the diamond ring, the Bailly's Beads, the corona and everything.

NINETY FUCKING SECONDS.

I'll be over here sulking.

That sucks.

[Unbeliever]

I was planning to use pinhole projection if we had enough clearing of the clouds, but, alas, we didn't.