Total solar eclipse 2017

W2R said:
We had it great, and lived in the best and most amazing time, when events like this were tremendous educational opportunities for kids. Being a kid today is pretty tough.
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I agree, but it seems it came in 1/2 a generation. My son was born in 1981 and was able to live a similar life. Take off with friends, ride bikes all day, roam from house to house and generally not need to check in every 5 minutes. Now we had a saying in the neighborhood that if you screw up, we will know it before you get home (and it was true).

I would like to believe, when he was was in school, it would have been a big hurrah for the eclipse, but if not, I know we would have had a neighborhood block party and done all the educational things, because it would be FUN.
 
CardsFan said:
I guess I'm showing my age. "Back in the day" this would have been an all school science project. Track the eclipse, document what happens, watch the eclipse and write a story about it! What did it look like? Did the animals really stop moving? Did it get cold? How cold?

Now we say, go inside, shut your eyes, don't look, and don't sue. What a shame.
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Yes. Like, what's your age? A 100? Silly make-work tedious projects for kids. All those questions and more have been answered ad nauseum by science over 100's of years.

Now, you're right about the sueing part. Hey, that's the way the world is. That's why I don't see it as a right vs wrong thing. The school boards know what they have to deal with. Assess the situation and proceed. Back out our day nobody sued over something like this (childhood tragedy/looking it an eclipse) but those days are gone. Was just speaking to my brother moments ago about our childhood riding in a Studebaker and watching father top off the water in the battery.
 
Note that at the bottom of the quoted article it said that several school districts WERE planning on having educational events for their students who would indeed be attending school that day. I'm glad I never viewed science excercises as "make work." How sad!
 
I'm glad I never viewed science excercises as "make work." How sad!
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I never did either. but much of what we did in school was wheel spinning. Moving the crap from one side of the warehouse to the other.

And yes, as you said self-brain-washing to feel good about whatever you're stuck with has helped humankind since day 1
 
GalaxyBoy said:
Note that at the bottom of the quoted article it said that several school districts WERE planning on having educational events for their students who would indeed be attending school that day. I'm glad I never viewed science excercises as "make work." How sad!
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Yeah, why waste the kids' time? Instead of experiential learning from a possible once in a lifetime event, they can stay inside the classroom and Google it. Better yet, Xbox, et al can make a video game with tons of inaccuracies, distortions, and maybe some needless violence. The kids could stay in their rooms and veg out further.

Seriously, it's telling insight on our society that schools (GOVCORP) and parents would have to conclude that possible litigation would be cause for cancelling school on what is a (potentially) tremendous "real world" and hands on learning event. :(
 
"Totality" on Amazon Prime. A bit over-the-top, but kind of neat - worth a watch for those planning to view....
 
sengsational said:
True, I-85 can be horrific. I'd start PLENTY early, put a destination into my GPS/SatNav (w/live traffic route adjustment) and do what it says. You certainly don't want to be stuck on an Interstate with no way to get off, so check traffic on your GPS make sure you don't get stuck.
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This. We went up 75 last week and hit some construction a little south of Chattanooga. The normal trip time from our place to the state line is about 1.5 hours and that day (outside of high travel time, too) it took 5 hours....at one point it took 2.5 hours to go 3 miles. So...the traffic on 85 and 75 is subject to absolute madness..so plan for the the worst and hope for the best.

Also, be wary of Google GPS. It showed our delay being 'only' 38 minutes...and that was 30 minutes after sitting still.
 
I've been known to back-up for almost a mile to get off of a blocked Interstate. It wouldn't have been bad except for all three of my girls (DD0,DD1, and DW) were freaking out the entire time.
 
sengsational said:
....

And while you have those eclipse glasses on, you won't be experiencing the bizarre feel of the situation; as the sun gets blocked, your surroundings become very eerie...hard to explain...the light is just different/weird.
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Yep. I experienced a partial eclipse some years back. Had forgotten about it that day, I must have had a lot on my mind. Fortunately, I was out running errands, and suddenly I'm saying "What?!!? Everything looks really weird." Spooky. Then I passed a school, and saw kids out with those projection boxes, and it hit me that this was the eclipse.

I plan to just look around. Using any device is going to be like spending your vacation looking through a camera lens, instead of experiencing the moment.

I'll watch youtube videos and online photos later - that's about what you get through any device. But no video is going to capture being immersed in that weird eerie light effect all around you.

-ERD50
 
FIREmenow said:
"Totality" on Amazon Prime. A bit over-the-top, but kind of neat - worth a watch for those planning to view....
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Watched it tonight - you are right, the first guy on (crying about eclipses) was definitely over the top. The rest was fine - a bunch of eclipse enthusiasts enthusing!

So my original thought was to stop along I-85 around the start of partial eclipse. But after good advice, scare mongering, and everything in between I'm leaning towards getting out of Atlanta before rush hour and maybe heading to Clemson. Should pull in there by 8:00 am. The huge advantage there is availability of restrooms. DW will appreciate it! Anyway, I've got to read up on their event.

Now I'm starting to worry that the whole thing will be clouded out in the SouthEast. :facepalm: That documentary mentioned one guy that traveled to 14 eclipses and only actually seeing one due to clouds.
 
I went outside last night to look at the (essentially) full moon. The last one before the eclipse.

It was very cool in a way I can't describe. Part of it is now I can sort of imagine how the Earth, Sun, and Moon relate to each other in space and part of it is cool to be able to go outside over the next two weeks and see the Moon sneak up on the Sun.
 
razztazz said:
School closings for Aug. 21 total solar eclipse | FOX2now.com

It's true. I don't really think it's a bad idea. It's a case of there's no right vs wrong or Good vs Bad here. If the school would have any liability for Wally or The Beav looking into the sun without the special glasses, why assume liability you don't have to? What's the law in that area say about it? If some school board thinks it's a low prob event and they want to go with it.... go with it.
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Well - our school is being a party pooper. School doesn't actually start till 8/28... but they scheduled Freshman Orientation for 8/21.

I looked at the schedule and I am going to attend the school event with my incoming freshman son... but we're going to ditch the activities that run from 10-10:40 for students and from 10-11 for parents... and meet at the quad with our glasses.

It's only partial here in San Diego - but still significant enough that I want to view it.

My older son will be in Oregon with my sister watching the total eclipse.
 
Gotta keep my fingers crossed.

Read a good quote by Fred Espenak (aka "Mr. Eclipse") the other day. Paraphrasing, "as far as natural phenomena go, on a scale of 1 to 10 a partial solar eclipse is about a 3. A total solar eclipse is a million."
 
We have glasses, camera covers, and are getting ready. DS will use his GoPro to record the horizontal experience and his covered iPhone to record the eclipse. DH has already tested the lens cover and our video camera can record the sun directly. I've arranged tickets to SolarFest in Madras, OR.We'll be parked in a makeshift campground already reserved and paid for. It will be a zoo. But so what? It's a once in a lifetime experience like no other. I'll be with my cousin , his girlfriend, DH, and even DS was able to carve out time with his two jobs to go. My sister is driving down from Washington state and spending a couple of nights in Bend with us. I'm actually glad DS didn't get a full time job this year. He can join us. Nothing like an eclipse to bring Americans together, all swished in an itty bitty line across the country!
 
EastWest Gal said:
It will be a zoo. But so what?
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I know, right? Sit back and relax in the hours before and after. I'm glad you've rigged up to be with your people. These will be some good memories!

I offered my house to any relatives that wanted to come up (it's about an hour and a half drive from totality). These are Floridians, so it would take them 10 hours to get to my house, but none of my sisters, brothers, or mom said they would bother with the eclipse. I can't imagine that frame of mind. And the house would be completely theirs, since I'll be a 3 hour drive west.
 
Unfortunately, a schedule conflict won't let me see this one, but it looks like my next opportunity will be April 8, 2024. Maximum totality in Mexico, but it will pass practically right over my home. Definitely looking forward to it.
 
We are going to a brewery that is having an eclipse party. They are introducing 3 new beers during totality. This could be interesting.
 
braumeister said:
Unfortunately, a schedule conflict won't let me see this one, but it looks like my next opportunity will be April 8, 2024. Maximum totality in Mexico, but it will pass practically right over my home. Definitely looking forward to it.
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We are going to have to wait for the April 2024 one also as it passes right over central Texas. :D
 
The last total eclipse I saw was about 45 years ago. Summer of '72 my Dad drove me up to far northeastern Quebec to watch the eclipse. Mom and sisters didn't show much interest and stayed home, In fact, unlike the upcoming extravaganza most folks didn't seem to show a whole lot of interest and I recall almost no crowds, nor difficulty finding spontaneous roadside lodging. Anyway, the weather was marginal and I still remember my Dad blasting along some highway in the Gaspe peninsula in our boat-like family sedan racing to get out from under clouds. Didn't see another car and we were able to get into the clear about 20 minutes before totality.

A cool father-son adventure to be sure.
 
Note that the next total solar eclipse in the US is April 8 2024. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_eclipse_of_April_8,_2024
A summary of the path:
"Totality will be visible in a narrow strip in North America, beginning at the Pacific coast, then crossing northern Mexico through the states of Sinaloa, Durango and Coahuila, in the United States, through the states of Texas (including Dallas, the most populous city along the path of totality, and Fort Worth), Arkansas (including Little Rock), Missouri, Illinois, Kentucky, Indiana (including Indianapolis), a very small area of Michigan, Ohio (including Toledo, Cleveland), Pennsylvania (including Erie), New York (including Buffalo, Rochester, Syracuse and the Adirondacks), northern Vermont and New Hampshire and finally the southern parts of the provinces of Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, western Prince Edward Island, and the island of Newfoundland in eastern Canada. Then, it will vanish at the eastern Atlantic Coast of Newfoundland. It will be the 2nd total eclipse visible from the central United States in just 7 years, coming after the August 21, 2017 eclipse.[1]
In Canada, the path of totality will pass over parts of southern Ontario (including Hamilton, Niagara Falls, Kingston, and Cornwall), parts of southern Québec (including Montréal and Sherbrooke), central New Brunswick (including Fredericton), western Prince Edward Island (including Tignish and Summerside) and central Newfoundland Island (including Gander and Grand Falls-Windsor). Note that some of these cities listed lie on an edge of the path of totality, such as Hamilton and Montréal. Toronto and Moncton, New Brunswick, lie just north and south of the path of totality, respectively."


Note in Tx the totality comes close to San Antonio and Austin. But being in April in Tx there will probably be bad thunderstorms to hide the eclipse.
 
EastWest Gal said:
We have glasses, camera covers, and are getting ready. DS will use his GoPro to record the horizontal experience and his covered iPhone to record the eclipse. DH has already tested the lens cover and our video camera can record the sun directly. I've arranged tickets to SolarFest in Madras, OR.We'll be parked in a makeshift campground already reserved and paid for. It will be a zoo. But so what? It's a once in a lifetime experience like no other. I'll be with my cousin , his girlfriend, DH, and even DS was able to carve out time with his two jobs to go. My sister is driving down from Washington state and spending a couple of nights in Bend with us. I'm actually glad DS didn't get a full time job this year. He can join us. Nothing like an eclipse to bring Americans together, all swished in an itty bitty line across the country!
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Local weather forecast :confused:

too far out to say. The British Columbia fires have moved smoke down into Central Oregon. Plus our own fires. There is a fair size fire about an hour east of Bend in a wilderness area. Wilderness meaning no vehicles can go in on the ground. It was a bit smoky as I traveled through early this am. The mountains are not quite so crisp & clear. A few mornings the sun rises as a red ball through the haze. But looking up it's fairly clear.


This Meterologist is from Portland but pretty good. He will conentrate on the Valley but will probably throw in some info on Central oregon.

For a CO forecast I'd suggest (KTVZ) Bob Shaw tag line. Have a Sparkling day in Central oregon

https://fox12weather.wordpress.com/

Weather - KTVZ
 
Ronstar said:
We are going to a brewery that is having an eclipse party. They are introducing 3 new beers during totality. This could be interesting.
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Not sure that's a great combination. "Here, hold my Imperial Barrel Aged Stout while I stare at the Eclipse!". :nonono: :nonono: :nonono:

-ERD50
 
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